Key Takeaways
- The Vande Bharat Express trains now connect Gorakhpur with Lucknow via Ayodhya and Jodhpur with Ahmedabad.
- Travel time between Gorakhpur and Lucknow is reduced by over two hours, operating six days a week.
- The redevelopment of Gorakhpur Railway Station (Rs 498 crore) aims to boost tourism to sites like Lumbini and Kushinagar.
On Friday, July 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two more Vande Bharat Express trains in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur.
The trains are the Gorakhpur‑Lucknow and the Jodhpur‑Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) Vande Bharat Express services.
At the same event, PM Modi laid the cornerstone for the redevelopment of the Gorakhpur Railway Station, a project valued at Rs 498 crore.
Along with fast connectivity, the Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express, which will pass through Ayodhya, will also provide convenient and better connectivity to the sacred Gorakshnath Temple, and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra. The train will also enhance connectivity to Geeta Press, the publishing centre of world-famous religious books; and it will also promote, the internationally recognized terracotta items of Gorakhpur.
The train will operate 6 days a week, and will reduce the travel time by more than 2 hours, along with the excellent connectivity for pilgrims, students, businessmen, and professionals, as mentioned above. This will boost tourism in the region as the connectivity to Buddhist pilgrim sites like Lumbini and Kushinagar will also improve, as this will be the fastest running train on the route of Gorakhpur-Lucknow via Ayodhya.
On the other hand, the Jodhpur-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express will improve connectivity to places such as Jodhpur, Abu Road, and Ahmedabad, all important tourist, religious, and business centres.
