Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visits Kamakhya temple ahead of Guwahati‘s first Vande Bharat Express launch

On Monday, ahead of the launch of the semi-high-speed Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the famous Kamakhya temple at Nilachal hills in Guwahati, Assam. 

He shared a video of his visit to the temple on Twitter with the caption, “Jai Maa Kamakhya.”

Vaishnaw was in Guwahati to attend the launch of the Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off via video conference today. This will be the first Vande Bharat Express to operate in Assam and India's Northeast region. 

Connecting Guwahati in Assam with New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, the train will help save about an hour of journey time compared to the current fastest train connecting the two places. It will cover the journey in five-and-a-half hours, while the current fastest train takes about six-and-a-half hours to cover the distance, the PMO said in a statement on Sunday.

Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said before 2014, the allocation for the railways for the northeast was Rs 2,000 crore, but under the Modi government, it has been increased to Rs 10,200 crore, helping expedite projects in the region. 

"Fifteen to 20 years ago, whatever good thing used to happen used to go to big cities; these took time to reach the northeast," the minister said. However, after the Modi government came, it "changed the mindset towards the region", and for the northeast, "Look East" was transformed into "Act East", he added ahead of the train's flag-off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Watch: Northeast India’s first Vande Bharat Express Launch Today: Check Route, Stoppage, Distance, Ticket price and other details