new delhi prime minister narendra modi said that the people of odisha and west bengal are being presented with the vande bharat express on thursday which is a symbol of modern and aspirational indiaaddressing the launch of railway projects in odisha he said indias speed and progress can be seen whenever a vande bharat train runs from one place to another this pace can now be witnessed in the states of odisha and west bengalhe said that this will entirely change the meaning of development along with the experience of travelling for the passengersbe it travelling from kolkata to puri for darshan or the other way round the travel time will now be reduced to only six and half hours thereby saving time giving rise to business opportunities and providing new opportunities for the youth pm said stated a releasethe prime minister noted that the railway is the first choice and priority for any citizen who wishes to travel afar and mentioned the other railway development projects whose foundation stone has been laid today including the redevelopment and modernization of puri and cuttack railway stations along with the dedication of doubling of rail lines in the region and 100 per cent electrification of rail lines in odishareferring to the era of azadi ka amrit kaal the prime minister emphasised the need to strengthen the unity and integrity of the country and said that the collective capabilities of the country can reach the pinnacle if the country remains totally unitedhe remarked that the vande bharat express is a reflection of such belief where it is becoming the engine of development for the country while forwarding the spirit of ek bharat shreshtha bharatthe indian railway connects and weaves everyone together in a thread and the vande bharat express will also move forward with the same idea and thought the train will strengthen the spiritual and cultural connection between puri and howrah he saidthe prime minister informed that fifteen vande bharat trains are already running in various states of the country giving a push to the economy of the countrypm modi said that in recent times india has maintained the speed of its development despite extremely adverse circumstancesmodi credited the participation of every state in this journey and said that the country is moving forward taking every state alongunlike earlier times new india is creating technology indigenously and also taking that to every nook and corner of the country referring to the indigenous origins of vande bharat trains india has developed technology like 5g and vaccines during the pandemic said pm modihe underlined that these innovations never remained limited to one state or city but were taken throughout the country in an equal manner similarly he said vande bharat is touching all corners of the countrythis policy of sabka saath sabka vikas is benefitting those states which lagged behind in development the budget for railway schemes in odisha has increased significantly in 10 years before 2014 only 20 km of railway lines were