Maharashtra to launch circuit train for tours of historical forts and cultural sites: CM Fadnavis

Mumbai, April 11 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was accompanied by the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, said on Friday that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Circuit high-speed train for tours of historical forts and cultural sites in the state will be launched.

Travellers can travel for 10 days on this circuit train, the Chief Minister added.

“The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Circuit Train is going to be started soon. It will be an iconic train. A 10-day tour will be organised in this circuit train which will connect the forts, places and other cultural places related to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” CM Fadnavis said.

At the joint press conference, he added that railway projects worth Rs 1.73 lakh crore are currently being developed in Maharashtra, of which works worth Rs 17,000 crore are underway in Mumbai and other areas.

CM Fadnavis said that the state has received Rs 23,778 crore in the railway Budget for 2025-26 while in the 10-year UPA rule, the state received only Rs 10,000 crore.

However, during the BJP-led government at the Centre allotment of Rs 23,000 to 25,000 crore have been received every year to the state.

Union Minister Vaishnaw said that Rs 1.73 lakh crore worth projects connected with Maharashtra, including the bullet train and corridors and the redevelopment of stations, have been approved.

“For the sanction of such big projects, there is a need for funding every year; that is why you must have noticed how in the Union Budget till now, there has been an allocation of Rs 23,778 crore,” he added.

“When the INDIA bloc, formerly called the UPA was there, then only Rs 1,171 crore was allocated to Maharashtra, but now PM Modi has given atleast 20 times more than that, which will transform the rail network of Maharashtra,” he said.

CM Fadnavis said, “Vidarbha’s trade with Chhattisgarh-Telangana is going to increase. The Central government has given Rs 4,819 crore for the doubling of the Gondia-Balharshah railway line which will definitely benefit those who are part of Vidarbha. Especially the trade between Chhattisgarh and Telangana is very important for the growth of Vidarbha, because we know that Gondia is a place where there is a border between both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and beyond Balharshah we get Telangana and there Andhra Pradesh. Therefore, this is a very strategic line.”

Union Minister Vaishnaw highlighted the various corridor projects and the redevelopment of stations, including the Balharshah-Gondia, Jalna-Jalgaon, and others.

“PM Modi, in the recent Cabinet meet, has sanctioned the Balharshah-Gondia’s doubling project of 240 km, which has been allocated Rs 4,819 crore,” he said.

CM Fadnavis said that 132 railway stations are being developed in Maharashtra, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

–IANS

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