Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw arrived in Jaipur on a one-day visit on Thursday. He was welcomed at the Khatipura railway station by railway officials and local representatives. During his visit, he inspected the integrated coach complex and the rail coach restaurant at Khatipura station. He was accompanied by Jaipur MP Manju Sharma, Civil Lines MLA Gopal Sharma, and Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation Mayor Soumya Gurjar.
Following this, the Railway Minister visited the newly constructed building of Laghu Udyog Bharati in Jagatpura, where he awarded winners of startups and innovations. Deputy Chief Minister Premchand Bairawa and Cabinet Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were also present on this occasion.
At the Laghu Udyog Bharati event, the Railway Minister announced that the names of Jaipur's Gandhinagar and Khatipura railway stations would be changed. 'Jaipur' will be added to the station names; for example, Gandhinagar railway station will be renamed 'Jaipur Gandhinagar' and Khatipura will be 'Jaipur Khatipura'. This will make it easier for passengers to identify the stations and clarify that these stations are in Rajasthan, not Gujarat.
The Railway Minister stated that there is a plan to develop a large maintenance facility in Jaipur, where 12 to 18 trains can be maintained simultaneously. This will include trains like Vande Bharat. This will help in starting new trains from Jaipur in the future.
He also announced that a training programme for 5,000 youths in electronic manufacturing will be launched in collaboration with Laghu Udyog Bharati. Furthermore, the central and state governments will jointly establish an integration centre in Jaipur to connect the railway and startup sectors, where startups will receive mentorship and access to investors. This project will commence within a few months.
