Delhi to Siliguri in 6 hours !! ?? ::::: West Bengal - no longer has 'negative aunt' as CM --- State to get bullet train ::: Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announces rail infrastructure blitz

New Delhi to Siliguri in 6 hours? Bengal to get bullet train

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a rail infrastructure blitz in West Bengal during his Kolkata visit. 

He accused the previous TMC regime of delaying projects, while CM Suvendu Adhikari blamed the erstwhile Mamata-led dispensation for taking Centre-state relations to a 'very difficult stage'.

Unveiling a rail infrastructure blitz in West Bengal, where BJP has come to power last month; Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced a bullet train project that would connect Delhi with Siliguri, the gateway to the northeast. 

Vaishnaw said it would reduce the travel time to just six hours from the present 20 hours. 

This will be India's second bullet train project after the 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, which is set to be operational next year.

"A bullet train project will come to West Bengal. It will connect Delhi and Siliguri via Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna," the Union Minister said.

Vaishnaw, who visited Kolkata and also took a metro ride, praised Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for the election win and "saving Bengal" from the Trinamool Congress, which he accused of delaying key projects. 

The minister asserted that railway projects worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore were currently underway in the state.  

"Congratulations on the way you have saved Bengal. Now you can work. 

For so many years, development work was stopped here," Vaishnaw told Suvendu, widely seen as the architect behind the BJP's turnaround in the state. 

The Union Minister was seen taking an autorickshaw to meet Suvendu after reviewing railway projects. 

Suvendu, who accompanied Vaishnaw, said the government would work closely with the Centre to accelerate pending railway projects. He blamed the Mamata Banerjee-led regime for taking Centre-state relations to a "very difficult stage".

"Just as we have provided land to the BSF to strengthen border security, we will similarly provide land to the Railways for various projects across West Bengal," the Bengal CM said.

In its first Cabinet meeting last month, the BJP government initiated the transfer of 600 acres of land to the BSF for barbed-wire fencing along the porous Bangladesh border. It was a key promise of the BJP.