Gwalior-Bengaluru direct train service launched

Bhopal, Jun 26 (PTI) The much-awaited direct weekly train service between Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka's capital Bengaluru started on Thursday.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia showed the green flag to the train at the Gwalior station, while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took part in the flagging off ceremony through video link from Jabalpur and Delhi, respectively.

Yadav said the Gwalior-SMVT Bengaluru Weekly Express will be a gift for the youth in the region who are pursuing career in IT as they will be able to reach Bengaluru directly. It will also be a major train service for the Gwalior-Chambal region, he said.

Railway network in the Gwalior region was expanded from the time when late Madhavrao Scindia was Union minister, he noted.

The chief minister also said that a cabinet meeting will soon be held in Gwalior which was the 'karmabhoomi' of BJP stalwarts Vijayaraje Scindia and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the occasion of Vajpayee's birth centenary.

Vaishnaw described the new train as a "big gift" for the Gwalior-Chambal region.

Several railway projects have been approved for Madhya Pradesh, and projects worth more than Rs 24,000 crore were sanctioned last year for the state, he said.

In view of the coming Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, the Railway Ministry will make meaningful efforts to facilitate travel to the holy city, the minister said.

Scindia said today was a historic day for Gwalior, and the new train will connect the city with the South.

The Bengaluru railway station is named after the great engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya who had designed the Tighra dam that quenches the thirst of Gwalior, the Union minister noted.

The new train will cater not only to Gwalior but also to about 40 lakh residents of Shivpuri, Guna and Ashoknagar districts, he said. PTI MAS KRK