Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged off three Vande Bharat trains via videoconferencing and said the trains connecting historic and important cities will be another step in the direction of Viksit Bharat.

The state-of-the-art Vande Bharat Express trains will improve connectivity on three routes: Meerut-Lucknow, Madurai-Bengaluru, and Chennai-Nagercoil, in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

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Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that a new chapter is being written in the development journey of India. “Temple City Madurai is now connected with IT City Bengaluru,” he said. This would not only ease connectivity, especially during the weekends or festive period. but also be very beneficial for pilgrims.

The Chennai-Nagercoil route will hugely benefit students, farmers and IT professionals. Mr Modi noted the growth of tourism in places connected to Vande Bharat trains and said that it brings growth of businesses and employment opportunities in the region.

The Prime Minister said rapid development of Southern states is imperative to accomplish the goal of Viksit Bharat. “Southern India is the land of immense talent, resources and opportunities,” Mr Modi remarked, noting that the development of Tamil Nadu along with the entire Southern India is the government’s priority.

He said that the development journey of railways is an example of the government’s commitment. He said more than Rs 6000 crore has been allocated for Tamil Nadu’s rail budget this year, seven times more than in 2014.

He said that the total number of Vande Bharat trains in Tamil Nadu will go up to eight with the latest addition.

Similarly, a budget of more than Rs 7000 crore has been allocated for Karnataka in this year’s Budget which is nine times more than in 2014. Eight Vande Bharat Trains serve Karnataka now, he said.

The Prime Minister drew parallels from the budgets of the past and said that the multiple-fold increase has strengthened the rail traffic in the states of Southern India including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The railway tracks are being improved, electrification of railway tracks is taking place, and railway stations are being modernized. It has increased Ease of Living of the people and brought Ease of doing business.

Highlighting the introduction of the new Vande Bharat train on the Meerut-Lucknow route, Mr Modi congratulated the people of western Uttar Pradesh for the same. He said the region of Meerut and western Uttar Pradesh, known as land of revolution, is today witnessing a new revolution of development.

The Prime Minister underlined that RRTS has helped connect Meerut with the national capital New Delhi, and now distance between Meerut and the state capital Lucknow has been reduced with the introduction of Vande Bharat.

The Prime Minister said more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore has been allocated to the railways in this year’s budget and the government is connecting Indian Railways with high-tech services to transform its old image.

He said that Amrit Bharat trains are also being expanded along with Vande Bharat and a sleeper version of Vande Bharat is to be flagged off very soon. He said Namo Bharat trains are run for the convenience of people and Vande Metro will soon be started to tackle traffic problems within cities.