New Delhi: A day after the seaplane service was inaugurated by PM Modi, Indian Railways on Monday said that the Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Kevadiya will be connected by the railways network by the year-end. An announcement to this effect was made by Railway Board chairman VK Yadav.
Giving further details, he said that the train services will take passengers up to 5 km from the tallest statue in the world.At present, Vadodara, Bharuch and Ankleshwar stations provide rail connectivity to the iconic statue. The nearest airports to the Statue of Unity are Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and Vadodara Airport.
Elaborating further, Yadav said 100 per cent land has been acquired for the Kevadia Rail Link project. The project envisaged gauge conversion between the Dabhoi-Chandod 18 km route and a new line of 32 km between Chandod and Kevadia.
Once the project is completed, one can reach the Statue of Unity from Vadodara in 45 minutes. The speed of the trains in this section will be 110 kmph in phase one and upgraded to 130 kmph later.The 182-metre-tall monument has been built on an islet Sadhu Bet near Sardar Sarovar Dam. It is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US.