'Arunachal Express' inaugurated making travelling convenient and viable for commuters

Itanagar, March 1: Lauding the event as a new dawn in the land of the sun that is Arunachal Pradesh, State Minister of Railways, Rajen Gohain and Minister of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the Arunachal Express which is ought to be a weekly express. Arunachal Express, a fully air conditioned new weekly train service will run between Naharlagun and New Delhi.

 

The new service will complement an existing weekly train service between the two places. It will also be the 14th direct train connecting Northeast with the national capital. The Arunachal Express will have state-of-the-art coaches which are measured to be modern and safe. The train will cover the 2,013 km distance between Naharlagun and Anand Vihar Terminal in little over 38 hours and will have 14 stoppages. The train will be completely air-conditioned and will have first class, two-tier and three-tier coaches along with a pantry car.

Speaking on the occasion Rijiju said, "This is the beginning. Arunachal Pradesh is poised for a giant leap in the developmental front with a survey of 11 railway projects in the state going on which, will change the face of the state soon."

Further he said that earlier the Center had shortage and the project was delayed and later added that,“New Delhi is willing to work for Arunachal Pradesh but the problem lies with the state as the state government has failed to clear land acquisition process for an important project."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Itanagar on February 15 last had announced increasing the frequency of the Naharlagun-New Delhi AC Express train from one day a week to twice and to rechristened it as the 'Arunachal Express'.

Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein speaking on the occasion stated that development process had begun for Arunachal Pradesh with BJP-led NDA government at the Centre attaching priority to Northeast considering it as the ‘Engine of Growth’ for the country.