Election Commission, railways come together for voter awareness campaign

As part of voters awareness campaign, the Election Commission and the railways have decided to utilise four long-distance trains to carry motivational messages for electorates, a statement from the poll panel said Friday. The trains will display important contact details including voter helpline number and the National Voters' Services Portal address, besides motivational messages urging voters to exercise their franchise.

The four trains are: The Kerala Express, Himsagar Express, Howrah Express and Guwahati Express.  The Kerala Express, carrying posters for voter awareness, was Friday flagged off from the New Delhi Railway Station by Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh, SVEEP (Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation Program) director Padma Angmo, Election Commission of India, and Northern Railway DRM R N Singh Friday. 

The three other trains will be flagged off in coming days. The Kerala Express will be received by respective State Chief Electoral Officers and District Election Officers at the State and District HQs as it traverses the route.  As the trains travel across the country, citizens will be encouraged to click photographs with them and upload it on social media, for further spreading the message.

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The trains have been selected on the longest North-South route and East-West route and covers 19 States in all. The Kerala Express is a daily train covering 3,035 Kms through eight states in 51 hours 10 minutes and has 41 stops.  There are 20 halts with stoppage of five minutes or more. State capitals covered by Kerala Express are Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Himsagar Express is a weekly train covering 3,714 Kms in 12 states in 71 hours with 69 stops. There are 29 halts with the stoppage of 5 minutes or more including the last stop. The state capitals and major cities en route are Thiruvananthapuram, Bhopal, New Delhi (Nizamuddin) and Jammu Tawi. The Howrah Express is a daily train covering 2,087 kms through six states in 37 hours 35 minutes with 63 stops. There are 19 stops with the stoppage of 5 minutes or more. State capitals and major cities covered by the train are Ahmedabad, Raipur and Howrah.

The Guwahati Express is a weekly train covering 3,237 kms in 7 states in 67 hours 40 min with 41 stops. There are 23 stops with the stoppage of 5 minutes or more. It covers major cities including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna and Guwahati.