BJP MP from Maharashtra Dr Medha Vishram Kulkarni on Monday demanded high-speed train connectivity from Pune to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.

Raising her demand she said, Pune is one of the important cities in the country with IT, education and industrial hubs, however, it doesn't have connectivity through trains such as Rajdhani, Tejas and Vande Bharat.

According to Kulkarni, Pune is developing very fast but traders, students and common passengers face a lot of inconvenience because available train services take about 26 to 28 hours to reach Delhi and Kolkata.

"If we talk about train services between Delhi and Pune, available trains are Jhelum Express and Goa Express which take about 26 to 28 hours to cover the distance due to which people waste a lot of time. Rajdhani Express service is not available up to Pune and people have to come to Mumbai to avail this service," Kulkarni said, adding that people waste a lot of money and time in this process.

Rajdhani Express via Pune

Kulkarni suggested that Delhi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Hyderabad Rajdhani Express trains should be run via Pune either daily or at least thrice a week.

"Available fastest train service from Pune to Kolkata is Howrah Azad Hind Express which takes about 28 hours to cover the distance. I demand for the introduction of high-speed trains such as Tejas and Vande Bharat so that the trade and tourism gets impacted," Kulkarni said.

Kulkarni also raised the issues of inter-state connectivity from Pune and said that Nasik, which is religious as well as agriculture centre, doesn't have direct train services from Pune.

"People have to go to Mumbai to take a train to Nashik or take a road trip which takes about 6 hours," Kulkarni said.

She also demanded that under the Bharat Gaurav train scheme, Pune should be given connectivity with important religious cities.