By IANS,
Kolkata: Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday announced two pairs of daily trains between Howrah and Digha, a popular coastal hotspot in West Bengal that she aims to transform into a major tourist destination.
“From now on, there would be two trains, one early in the morning and the other in the afternoon, from Howrah railway station to Digha. The name of train would be Kandari Express. The return trains will run in the afternoon and the evening. This service will start from Saturday (June 13),” Banerjee said at a press conference here.
She said: “This will help tourists to visit Digha on weekends. The ministry is also trying to add some more facilities like a pantry coach for this train. We’re also mulling to introduce some package for the tourists who will travel by the train. But for that we need some time,” she added.
Banerjee said the ministry will make all arrangements to facilitate tourist movement to Digha.
“So, I would request all to pack their baggage and leave for Digha. Kandari is ready,” she added.
Earlier, Banerjee had declared in her party’s Lok Sabha polls manifesto that her Trinamool Congress would take effective measures to transform Digha into into a replica of Goa.
She said Digha has a tremendous potential to become a preferred destination for domestic as well as foreign tourists.
Banerjee is the president of the opposition Trinamool Congress in the state. Her party, along with the Congress, won 26 seats altogether in the general elections.
The Trinamool Congress singularly secured 19 seats, with electoral partners Congress and Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) winning six and one respectively.
The state’s ruling Left Front won 15 out of West Bengal’s 42 parliamentary constituencies.