Bhubaneswar, Feb 20: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced a new Rs 492 Crore rail line project connecting Puri and Konark in Odisha with trains having vistadome coaches.

Addressing the media here soon after he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha, Vaishnaw said, "The much awaited public aspiration Puri-Konark Rail Line has been sanctioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 492 Crore has also been sanctioned for construction of this 32 Kms long Rail Line."

The Railway Minister also said that project has been sanctioned and fund is available. Work for this project will start just after getting land for construction of the rail line. Altogether, 217 acres of land is necessary for this project. He also urged cooperation from State Government in the field of land acquisition work.

Once the line is commissioned, this will promote Spiritual, Heritage and Coastal Tourism. Vistadome like train services will run in this line. This will connect Konark Sun Temple with Shri Jagannath Temple. Jagannath culture will be in promotion in the trains in this route. Apart from this, 4 to 5 tourist Hubs will be made in this Rail Line. Railways will be in coordination with Jagannath Temple Administration for promotion of Jagannath culture in the Rail section, the Railway Minister added.

Apart from this, Vaishnaw said that as many as 409 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) in Odisha has been constructed in last 10 years and 220 ROBs & RUBs are now in progress in the State.

The Minister also released five Commemorative Postage Stamps on Legendry Poets of Odisha and Cultural Heritage of Western Odisha through video conferencing from Bhubaneswar. He also inaugurated 42 Branch Post Offices of 07 Districts of Western Odisha.

Union Minister of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan graced the function at Biju Patnaik Auditorium, Sambalpur University, Burla during releasing of Postage Stamps and inauguration of Post Offices.

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