Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Assam’s first Vande Bharat Express via video conferencing on Monday. The semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express will connect Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri, and the journey will cover a distance of 411 Kilometres in 5 hrs 30 minutes over six days a week, except Tuesdays.

Prime Minister Modi also congratulated the citizens of the entire Northeast, along with Assam, Meghalaya, and West Bengal on the momentous occasion.

The rail connectivity in the Northeast is proof of the government’s speed, scale, and intention, the Prime Minister said. He also highlighted by saying that even in colonial times, Assam, Tripura, and Bengal were connected by railways, even though to loot the natural resources. However, even after Independence, the expansion of railways in the region was ignored and finally fell on the current government after 2014.

At the event, Modi dedicated 182 kilometers of newly-electrified sections and inaugurated a freshly-constructed DEMU/MEMU shed at Assam’s Lumding.