Congress books RaGa' train for Delhi rally

Mumbai: The Mumbai unit of the Congress party has booked a special 18-coach train to ferry up to party workers to New Delhi for a rally that party president Rahul Gandhi will address on Sunday.

The train named ‘Rahul Gandhi Superfast Express’, will leave the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Friday and can carry up to 1,200 party workers. The coaches have been booked at full tariff rates.

The party has named the coaches after prominent personalities. It is the first time that the Mumbai unit of the Congress party has booked a train to take party workers to New Delhi.

The train will be decorated with party flags and pictures of party leaders and other personalities like Maratha warrior king Shivaji. The coaches will have names like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rashtrapita Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi among others.

The decision to hire the train was taken on the request of All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ashok Gehlot.

The Rahul Gandhi Superfast Express train will have a pantry car. The train will have four to five halts between CSMT and New Delhi station. Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam will flag off the train.

“The train is hired for party workers of Mumbai. The idea behind this is to apprise the ward level workers about the party president Rahul Gandhi’s stand on the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. Hence, the party is making all the efforts to take as many party workers as possible to Ramlila Maidan (rally venue),” Mr Nirupam told The Asian Age on Wednesday. The party hopes to energise its workers for the upcoming elections through the campaign named ‘Janakrosh’ rally.

Meanwhile, senior Railway officials said, “The Mumbai Congress has approached us with the request for a special train. We are making arrangements for the same.”

The train will depart from CSTM at 11 pm on Friday and on return journey it will leave New Delhi on Sunday.