PM Modi recalls slow train travel on narrow gauge line

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Sunday flagged off eight trains connecting different parts of the country to Kevadia in Gujarat, recalled his slow speed journeys on narrow gauge trains of yore. Speaking after the event, Modi said old memories of train travel became fresh after flagging off the trains.
"Very few people may be aware of the Baroda (Vadodara) to Dabhoi narrow gauge line. I used to travel by this narrow gauge line. The funny thing in that journey was the train used to be so slow that you could alight and get in at any place, very comfortably," Modi said.

"In fact, for some moments, you could walk along with the train and you felt your (walking) speed was more than the train. I also used to enjoy this sometimes," Modi said, adding the stretch is being converted into broad gauge.

Modi said the eight new trains will help boost tourism in the tribal region and increase connectivity to the world's tallest statue, the Statue of Unity, which he inaugurated in October 2018 on the occasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 143rd birth anniversary.