Varanasi: Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the northern corridor of the bullet train project, which will connect major cities including Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi and Patna.Speaking at the launch of the Vande Bharat Sleeper train at Banaras railway station, Vaishnaw said the proposed corridor would reduce travel time between Varanasi and Delhi to around 3 hours and 33 minutes.He said the Bullet Train North Corridor would transform travel across northern India and benefit future generations, youth, middle-class families, small businesses, workers and common citizens.According to the minister, the expected travel time from Delhi to Kanpur will be around 1 hour and 45 minutes, Delhi to Agra around 59 minutes, Delhi to Lucknow around 2 hours and 12 minutes, Varanasi to Lucknow around 1 hour and 21 minutes, and Varanasi to Patna around 1 hour.Vaishnaw praised Prime Minister Modi for pushing major infrastructure projects and said the bullet train corridor would be remembered for the next hundred years as a major gift to the country.The minister described the launch of the Vande Bharat Sleeper train as a proud moment for Varanasi. He said the train has been designed with a special focus on passenger comfort, along with the needs of loco pilots and railway staff.Vaishnaw said Indian Railways is continuously working to improve facilities for underprivileged and middle-class passengers. The new sleeper service will allow passengers to board the train in Varanasi at night and reach Delhi by morning, with the same convenience available on the return journey. He added that the fare has been kept nominal.Ten MEMU services were also inaugurated in Varanasi on Saturday. Vaishnaw said the PM had personally directed the operation of these services to benefit the youth, traders and farmers of Varanasi. The monthly season ticket fare from Varanasi to Rajatalab has been fixed at Rs 95, while the fare from Varanasi to Prayagraj Rambag has been fixed at Rs 220.Vaishnaw also criticised the previous Samajwadi Party govt in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress govt at the Centre, alleging that the state earlier received only Rs 1,100 crore as railway budget allocation. He said the allocation has now increased nearly twentyfold to Rs 20,000 crore.Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Vaishnaw flagged off several train services from Manduadih Railway Station, including the Varanasi–New Delhi Vande Bharat Sleeper train, the Banaras–Prayagraj Rambagh service and the Banaras–Raja Talab service.
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