Holy city Amritsar misses out on largesse of Centre's Vande Bharat trains

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, July 4

Estimates suggest that close to one lakh tourists visit the city of the Golden Temple every day. The medium of transportation in which they arrive is split between airplanes, trains, personal vehicles and buses. Undoubtedly, the train is a major mode of transportation and the Railways has a grand plan to construct a world class railway station here to promote tourism.

However, the city did not figure in the array of Vande Bharat trains introduced across the length and breadth of the country recently. Responding to an RTI application of Naresh Johar, a local resident, Railways officials said there was no plan to run a Vande Bharat train from the Amritsar railway station as of now.

Naresh said PM Narendra Modi had flagged off five Vande Bharat Express trains from Bhopal on June 28. It took the total number of Vande Bharat Express trains in the country to 23. Despite that, not a single train touches the holy city, which is considered among the most visited by tourists in the country, he said.

Designed to run at a speed of 110 to 130 kmph, the average speed of these trains ranges between 63 to 96 kmph.

APS Chatha, a hotelier, said the holy city boasts of a range of tourism projects like the Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a panorama on him, Pul Kanjri, a tourism site associated with the Maharaja, Gobindgarh Fort, Sadda Pind, a heritage village, Partition Museum, War Memorial and Urban Haat. Grouped with Tarn Taran’s Hari Ke Pattan wetland, the tourists could stay here with for two to three days. Fast train connectivity could help bring in more tourists to the city from other places in the country, he said. The availability of these trains would increase employment opportunities in the city and help in growing the tourism sector, he added.

‘Fast connectivity could bring more tourists’

APS Chatha, a hotelier, said the holy city boasts of a range of tourism projects like the Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a panorama on him, Pul Kanjri, a tourism site associated with the Maharaja, Gobindgarh Fort, Sadda Pind, etc. Fast train connectivity could help bring in more tourists to the city from other places in the country, he added.