Ferozepur-Delhi Vande Bharat train launch announcement on Sept 23: Bittu

Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu today said that the formal announcement regarding the flagging off of the Ferozepur-Delhi Vande Bharat train would be made on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, sources said the train could start on September 26 or 27, as it was delayed due to floods.

“This will be the first Vande Bharat train from this part of Malwa to connect with the national capital. It will start from Ferozepur, go via Bathinda, Dhuri, Rajpura and Ambala, and then reach Delhi. By next year, many new trains for this part of the state will also be flagged off,” said Bittu.

Bittu was here to attend functions organised by two local organisations on the eve of Agarsen Jayanti.

“Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was invited by the residents of Muktsar, as she had urged the Railway Ministry to rename Old Delhi Railway Station after Maharaja Agarsen. However, she was busy with the Prime Minister’s programme in Delhi today and thus asked me to visit Muktsar. The file on the renaming of Old Delhi Railway Station has been cleared by the Home Ministry and has reached us. A formal announcement will be made as per the Prime Minister’s schedule,” said Bittu.

He further blamed the state government for the floodgate failure at Madhopur headworks.

“The state government itself damaged the floodgates when they did not open during the recent heavy flow of water. The CM is responsible for this,” claimed Bittu, warned the public not to fall into the trap of the state government’s ‘'Mission Chardi Kala’ campaign, rather donate to government accounts.

Bittu also challenged Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to use the state machinery, including the police and vigilance, against him.

“The way the BJP worked during the floods in the state has scared the CM. He has now even started giving advice to the BJP,” said Bittu.