Passenger trains start on Bharuch-Dahej route

BHARUCH: Broad gauge rail service between Bharuch and Dahej along with Ankleshwar and Rajpipla was inaugurated on Monday by Union railway minister M Mallikarjun Kharge. He also laid foundation stone of a coaching pit line at Ankleshwar.
The passenger trains on the two sections were flagged off by senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel. These trains will help the daily commuters to the industrial estates of Dahej and Ankleshwar.
The Ankleshwar-Rajpipla section spread over 63 km has 14 stations and was constructed at a cost of Rs 230 crore after the narrow gauge line was destroyed in the floods of 2000.
The Bharuch-Dahej line also covers 63 km. It was started for goods movement in 2011 at a cost of Rs 359 crore.
Ankleshwar is an 'A' category station recording a daily traffic of 16,000 passengers. With a view to start new trains from Ankleshwar to different part of the country, a coaching pit line is to be built at a cost of Rs 22 crore.
Addressing a public meeting at Ankleshwar, Ahmed Patel said, "The major development of industrial sector in Gujarat started in 1980s from Bharuch district during the Congress regime."
He said that major railway infrastructure has been created during the UPA tenure over the last decade.
Attacking BJP's approach to take credit for everything he said, "Railways have asked for land to construct 100 over bridges in Gujarat but there has been no response from the state government."
Patel said that thousands of crores are coming from the centre to Gujarat for various developmental projects. "It is very unfortunate that some people propagate their own name to showcase themselves as a messiah," he said.