Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the state’s first Vande Bharat Express train from the Central Railway Station here. The service will connect the state capital with Kasaragod.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor were also present with the PM as he interacted with the students inside the train. The children showed Modi paintings and sketches of him and the Vande Bharat train made by them. Hundreds of people also gathered on the opposite side platform to see the PM flag off the train.
The Vande Bharat Express, which will connect the state capital with the northern-most Kasaragod district of Kerala, has been projected by many as an alternative to the LDF government’s ambitious semi-high speed rail corridor, SilverLine.
PM Modi also dedicated to the nation various developmental projects, including Kochi Water Metro, and said as states develop, the country will develop faster.
Inaugurating Kochi’s Water Metro, Modi said the central government lays emphasis on cooperative federalism and believes that if the states develop, it will help in the development of the country.
“As Kerala develops, India will develop faster,” Modi said at an event held at the Central Stadium here.
Addressing a massive crowd at the stadium, Modi — dressed in a traditional Kerala attire of ‘kasavu’ mundu, shawl and kurta — said many are aware of the economic situations of the countries across the world.
Despite those global headwinds, India has been globally seen as the ‘Vibrant Spot of Development’, Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the southern state since Monday, said.
Most public transportation systems in the country, including the Kochi Water Metro, are made in India, he added.
Global outreach programmes of the central government have benefited Indians living abroad.
The PM said there were several reasons behind the world’s belief in India and these were a decisive government at the Centre, unparalleled investments in the infrastructure development by it, investments for reaping demographic dividend, skilling of youth and the central government’s commitment for ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
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During the event, Modi also dedicated the rail electrification of the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad section and laid the foundation stone of various rail projects including the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Varkala Sivagiri railway stations; the comprehensive development of Thiruvananthapuram area including Nemon and Kochuveli and increasing of sectional speed of Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section.
Apart from this, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram. Digital Science Park is envisaged as a key research facility to develop digital products and services by industry and business units in collaboration with academia.
