Staff Reporter
Member of Parliament Rakesh Singh along with other public representatives and senior railway officials, flagged off a new train between Jabalpur and Gondia during a programme organized at Jabalpur Railway Station, on Monday. Speaking on the occasion Singh expressed great happiness for the Mahakoshal region as a long-cherished dream has been fulfilled. He also highlighted the ongoing remodeling work at Jabalpur Station, which is being carried out at a cost of Rs 300 crore, as well as the completion of work worth Rs 120 crore at Madan Mahal Railway Station.
Singh further highlighted the efforts and movements made to convert the narrow gauge to broad gauge and improve train connectivity between Jabalpur and Gondia. He stressed that the running of this new train would benefit passengers from smaller stations such as Garha, Gourighat, Bargi, Shikara, Kaladehi and Ghansor making railway travel more accessible for passengers.
Rajya Sabha MP Sumitra Balmik also expressed her views, stating that the new train would greatly benefit the people of Jabalpur by providing convenient travel options to Nainpur, Balaghat and Gondia, especially in the tribal-dominated area. In his welcome speech, Divisional Railway Manager Vivek Sheel stated that the Jabalpur division has been continuously working towards improving passenger facilities after the gauge conversion of Jabalpur-Gondia railway section. He mentioned that the new 10-coach train would be completely unreserved and would stop at 36 stations between Jabalpur and Gondia. The train would depart from Jabalpur Railway Station at 6 am and reach Gondia at 1.30 pm, with the return journey from Gondia at 3.20 pm, reaching Jabalpur at 12.10 am on the same day. At the end of the ceremony, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Vishwa Ranjan expressed gratitude to everyone present for their support. MLA Ashok Rohani, other public representatives and Railway officials were also present on the occasion.