Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that designs of Vande Bharat train are better than airplanes. He made a comparison of Vande Bharat with its counterparts around the world, terming it an outstanding train. He further said that nation’s development and railways are above politics.

“Vande Bharat is an outstanding train. It can travel 0-100 km in 52 seconds,whereas other trains in world take 54 to 60 seconds. Designs of Vande Bharat are even better than that of aeroplane,it can provide at most comfortable travelling,” Vaishnaw said during the launch event of Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express.

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He also said that the Centre is providing ₹3,500 crore to Telangana government and this opportunity must be used to develop railways in the state. “Secunderabad will be developed into a world-class station. PM Modi has sanctioned ₹720 cr for this station along with that 35 other stations in Telangana will be developed,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the eight Vande Bharat Express connecting Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It will reduce the time travel between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam — a distance of 700km– to 8.5 hours from 12 hours.

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“Vande Bharat Express, in a way, will connect the shared culture and shared heritage of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Vande Bharat Express signifies that India wants the best of everything,” PM Modi said during his address.