Rousing reception accorded to Exhibition train

A rousing reception was accorded to the ‘Commonwealth Express’ exhibition train when it arrived at the Ernakulam Junction Railway station, here on Saturday.

Kochi: A rousing reception was accorded to the ‘Commonwealth Express’ exhibition train, that showcases the glory of Commonwealth Games and traversing throughout India, when it arrived at the Ernakulam Junction Railway station, here on Saturday.

Ernakulam District collector, Dr M Beena, Kochi Corporation Mayor Prof Mercy Williams and MLA Dominic Presentation, were among those who attended the function. Despite intermittent rain, a large number of people had come to witness the Commonwealth Express exhibition train, displaying the glory of the games. The train, will leave tonight and the next stop is at Mysore, railway sources said. There are eleven coaches in the train, out of that five coaches have been earmarked for Railway Sports Promotion Board to showcase the history of Commonwealth Games, details about the outstanding sports personalities of the country including Railway sports persons. The remaining six coaches displays information technology narrates the story of IT and Communication and how it touches our lives in a significant way, it said. In one of the coach the contribution of railways in the development of sports and and list of railway sportspersons who have won prestigious awards-Arjuna, Rajiv Gandhi, Khel Ratna, Dronacharya, Padmashree, Dhyanchand are exhibited. In one of the coaches special arrangement has been made to showcase brief informational films on IT and e-Governance in an auditorium-type environment and also for interactions with the general visitors. The contribution of the Railways in the field of sports could be assessed by the fact that there are 129 Arjuna Awardees, 16 Padma Shri Awardees, 5 Dhyanchand Awardees, 4 Dronacharya Awardees and above all, the most prestigious of individual awards in sports -- 3 Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna Puraskar awardees, in its family. The exhibition train was flagged off by Mamata Banerjee, Union Minister of Railways on June 24, at the Safdarjung Railway station,New Delhi. The ‘Commonwealth Express’ exhibition train will conclude its journey in Delhi on 1, October 2010 after covering around 50 major cities throughout the country. PTI