Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 8: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a warm and enthusiastic welcome by a large gathering when he arrived at the Maharaja Sayajirao University campus in Vadodara in his home state of Gujarat to attend the “NaMo for Viksit Bharat” event on Tuesday morning. Mr Modi also held a mega show in the city and dedicated three key sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), marking the completion of a major phase of India’s dedicated freight infrastructure. The three sections — Sanand (North)-Makarpura, New Umbergaon-New Saphale and New Saphale-Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) — together cover 326 route kilometres and have been developed at a cost of over Rs 20,700 crore.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of ₹35,000 crore projects at the ‘NaMo for Viksit Bharat’ event, Mr Modi said his visit was aimed at giving further momentum to India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation. He described the gathering as a celebration of growth and partnership, bringing together people working across different sectors.
The Prime Minister also addressed the Gen Z in the city and said this was a celebration of growth and partnership involving colleagues working across diverse fields. “Everything is coming together here. I have come among you today to further accelerate the journey towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India),” he added.
During the address, he also took a sharp dig at the previous governments over the prolonged delay in implementing the Dedicated Freight Corridor project, saying the ambitious initiative remained stuck in files for years despite being conceived as early as 2004.
Claiming that the 2,800-km long Dedicated Freight Corridor was a testament to how the country’s work culture has transformed over the past 12 years, Mr Modi said, “The idea for this Dedicated Freight Corridor began in 2004. In 2006, a special company was established to carry out this work, and until 2014, files just kept shuffling from one place to another.
“Unfortunately, even these files weren’t fortunate enough to get a dedicated corridor. Files would get stuck, hang around, wander aimlessly,” Mr Modi said. “After 2014, with your blessings, when I reached Delhi, and as soon as we arrived there, we began accelerating this project. Work on the dedicated freight corridors has been completed today,” he said.
Modi said the scale of the delay could be gauged from the fact that not even a single kilometre of the freight corridor had been completed during the seven or eight years following the project’s conception. “The truth is that for seven or eight years, not even one kilometre of the freight corridor was completed,” PM Modi said.
He used the example to contrast the pace of work under his government with what he described as the slow functioning of previous administrations. “If they had run the country like that, I don’t know if three or four generations would have passed and it still wouldn’t have happened”, he added.
“Today, the Eastern and Western Freight Corridors are becoming the main backbone of the country’s trade and business,” Mr Modi said. Earlier, passenger and goods trains had to run on the same tracks, slowing down both passenger travel and freight movement but the Dedicated Freight Corridor has changed this, he said. “Dedicated freight corridors are the lifeline of a fast-developing India. India’s transformation is accelerating because of this modern freight network,” Mr Modi said.
“After 2014, India built 50,000 modern rail coaches. The previous (Congress) regime could not build even 50,000 toilets in 10 years,” Mr Modi said. He said his visit was aimed at giving further momentum to India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation. He described the gathering as a celebration of growth and partnership, bringing together people working across different sectors.
Mr Modi also added that India’s youth were witnessing government thrust across solar, nuclear, and wind energy sectors. Emphasising the future of technology, the Prime Minister remarked that as upcoming industries, including artificial intelligence, would be entirely power-driven, the government was focussing on establishing a robust, multi-sectoral energy ecosystem to power India’s future growth.
The Prime Minister emphasised that India has emerged as a global manufacturing hub, now producing its own advanced train and metro coaches. He noted that over 50 thousand modern railway coaches and 2.5 lakh wagons have been added to the Indian Railways network. Outlining the vision of “Chip to Ship” local production, he stated that a complete, self-reliant supply chain was being forged within the country, spanning high-tech electronics to heavy maritime shipping.
During the programme, the Prime Minister also flagged off freight train services from New Sanand, New Makarpura, New Umbergaon, and New JNPT, along with a new passenger train service between Tanda Road and Vadodara, connecting remote tribal regions of Alirajpur to the national rail grid. Mr Modi also laid the foundation stone for three railway expansion projects worth over ₹9,700 crore and three National Highway projects costing around ₹1,780 crore to ease congestion and boost connectivity across Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. He also launched various civic and infrastructure projects of the Gujarat Government worth ₹2,600 crore, including floating solar plant at Kadana Dam and PMAY housing units.
Later, the PM also visited Navsari town in south Gujarat and inaugurated the BJP’s new AI-enabled, high-tech office in Navsari.