Uttarakhand CM Dhami urges Railway Minister Vaishnav to extend Deharadun-Lucknow Vande Bharat rail service to Ayodhya

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami requested Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to extend the proposed Vande Bharat Rail service from Dehradun-Lucknow to Ayodhya ahead of the grand consecration ceremony of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir on January 22.

The Chief Minister said that with the extension of Vande Bharat Rail service till Shri Ayodhya Dham, the travel from Uttarakhand to Ayodhya will become much easier for the residents of Uttarakhand as well as the devotees coming to Devbhoomi.

Earlier, in December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two new Amrit Bharat trains and six new Vande Bharat trains from Ayodhya Dham Station.

The Vande Bharat trains flagged off include Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Coimbatore-Bangalore Cantt Vande Bharat Express; Mangalore-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express; Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express and Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Vande Bharat Express.

The Indian Railways has announced to run more than 1000 trains from different parts of the country to accommodate citizens visiting Ayodhya during the first 100 days of the Ram Mandir.

These trains will start operating from January 19, days ahead of the consecration ceremony, allowing pilgrims to travel to and from the Ayodhya city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier, in December inaugurated the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station in Ayodhya.

The three-storey modern railway station is equipped with all modern features and amenities such as elevators, escalators, food plazas, shops for puja needs, cloakrooms, child care rooms, and waiting halls.

The station has been made 'accessible for all' and will be an 'IGBC-certified green station building'. Phase I of the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station -- rechristened as the Ayodhya Dham Junction Railway Station -- has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 240 crore.