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‘Moment of pride’, say railway employees involved in President Kovind’s train journey
President Ram Nath Kovind’s journey from Delhi to Kanpur onboard a special train on Friday is a first in 15 years when a sitting president travelled on a train.
Railway employees, who were involved in the operation of a special train which took President Ram Nath Kovind and first lady Savita Kovind to the former's native village Paraunkh in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, have described their "once in a lifetime" experience as a "moment of pride."
Sanjay Kumar Singh, the loco pilot of the train, called it his "moment of pride" and hoped that such a trip by Kovind will inspire more people to travel by trains, while the train's co-pilot, Anil Kumar Dixit, remarked that of all the trains operated by him, this was the one which made him the "happiest."
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"It was the most unforgettable moment of my life. Being the guard of the presidential train was an opportunity of a lifetime. It gave me the deepest sense of fulfilment, delight and happiness," Akshay Deep Chauhan, the guard of the train, said.
Vivek Kumar, a gateman at a level crossing on the route, said that he felt "very excited" when the train passed.
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Kovind left for Kanpur from Delhi's Safdarjung railway station on Friday in what marked the first train journey by an incumbent president in 15 years. The train arrived at Kanpur Central at around 8pm where the president and first lady were received by Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel, chief minister Yogi Adityanath and state industries minister Satish Mahana.
The couple will undertake another train journey when they leave for Lucknow on June 28. They will then return to the national capital on a special plane on June 29.
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was the last sitting president to travel on a train when he travelled from Delhi to Dehradun in 2006 to attend the passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy (IMA). Dr Rajendra Prasad, the country's first president, often undertook train journeys.
(With inputs from PTI)
