Kolkata, Oct. 26 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to conduct a survey for connecting Gangasagar to the railway network. He made the appeal at the flag-off ceremony of the Santragachi-Khatipura Express at Santragachi.

"Gangasagar needs rail connectivity, through a tunnel or another route. It is a major pilgrimage centre, as the saying goes, 'Sab Tirtha Baar Baar, Ganga Sagar Ek Baar'. Work on a bridge over the Muriganga River will be completed by 2029. Send a team to survey the proposed rail link," he said.

Adhikari urged Vaishnaw to expand railway workshops at Kanchrapara, Kharagpur and Liluah and set up more railway-related industries in Bengal to generate jobs for locally trained youth.

He also urged the Rajasthani community to invest in Bengal, assuring them of government support through land, incentives and measures to address law-and-order concerns.

Adhikari urged Vaishnaw to facilitate the inauguration of the 4.5-km Beleghata-IT Centre stretch of the Orange Line before major events, including the International Film Festival in December, Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan in January and World Energy Week later that month.

Vaishnaw said trial runs had begun and the section, which will connect with the Green Line, would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after trials, testing and certification.

The Railway Minister also said the Howrah-Jamshedpur rail corridor was being expanded to four lines as part of a broader plan to strengthen connectivity between Howrah and Mumbai.

Vaishnaw virtually flagged off the Santragachi-Khatipura Express on Monday. Regular services will begin from Santragachi on November 4 and from Khatipura on November 6.

The train will initially operate with 16 LHB coaches, including eight sleeper coaches, one three-tier AC coach and three three-tier economy AC coaches.

Vaishnaw said the train would fulfil a demand that had persisted for 30 to 35 years, particularly among passengers travelling between Rajasthan and eastern India. The programme at Santragachi was attended by state minister Dilip Ghosh, MLAs Rudranil Ghosh and Rajesh Kumar, South Eastern Railway General Manager Anil Kumar Jain, Kharagpur Divisional Railway Manager Lalit Mohan Pandey and other railway officials. A parallel programme was held at Tatanagar.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.