Delhi-Ludhiana Intercity renamed, flagged off by Piyush Goyal in Delhi

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Ministers Harsh Vardhan and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, on Friday, flagged off the 'Sarbat Da Bhalla Express' at New Delhi railway station. The newly renamed train will ply from Delhi to Lohian Khas via the holy city Sultanpur Lodhi. After being flagged off from New Delhi Railway Station on Friday at 6.30 am the train is expected to reach Sultanpur Lodhi at 2.38 pm.

Renamed on Guru Nakan's birth anniversary

The renaming happened on the request of Union Food Processing Industries Minister Badal on the occasion of the 550th Parkash Purb celebrations. Talking about the renaming, Badal had said, "Sarbat Da Bhala or 'Blessings for All' formed the essence of Guru Nanak Dev's teachings. It will be the most appropriate to rename the train as such."

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Before flagging off the train, Health Minister Vardhan said, "Several trains have been started by the government to facilitate people. This train will have blessings of Guru Nanak ji. It is a gift for Delhites and countrymen. Also, a 6-metre skywalk is being constructed to connect New Delhi station to the airport metro and yellow line."

Goyal, while terming Guru Nanak as a messenger of peace, said that the joy and celebrations to participate in the 550th anniversary of Nanak on November 12, is unimaginable. "Renaming of this train is an initiative to follow a path shown by Nanak ji. We all should imbibe his teachings in life," he added.

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Rs. 22 crore for the project

"It is a historic moment for Sikhs. I congratulate Piyush Goyal for accepting my request of renaming the train. In Sultanpur Lodhi, Nanak ji spent 14 years of his life and taught that all communities are one. No Hindu no Muslim, only Ek Omkar," Badal said.
Talking about upgrades, Badal mentioned that a total of Rs 22 crore was sanctioned by the Railway Ministry to renovate and improve Sultanpur Lodhi railway station and to launch 14 new trains to help provide aid of easy travel to the people from various parts of Punjab who want to travel to any of the state’s seven sacred places.

She also expressed her gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked him for taking up the Karatar Corridor initiative and fulfilling the 70-year-old dream of Sikh community.

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(With inputs from ANI)