Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for a two-day visit to Poland. After Poland, he will visit Ukraine on 23 August. He is going to Kiev on the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A special thing about his Ukraine visit is that he will travel from Poland to Kiev via a special train Rail Force One. In such a situation, it becomes important to know the specialty of this luxury train.
Due to the war in Ukraine, airports are closed on a large scale while travelling by road is very risky. In such a situation, world leaders in Ukraine consider travelling by train to be the safest way to Ukraine. But this is not an ordinary train but a specially designed luxury train, in which US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olof Scholz have travelled.
How long will be PM Modi’s journey by train?
PM Modi will reach war-torn Ukraine on 23 August by this special train. The CEO of Ukraine’s railway company Ukrzaliznytsia named it Rail Force One. It is seen as Ukraine’s iron diplomacy. PM Modi will travel for a total of 20 hours by this special train. Out of this, ten hours will be spent to reach Ukraine and ten hours to reach Poland from Ukraine.
Train is a package of luxury and security
This luxury train Force One is a special train. Cabins made of special wood are made inside this train. There are long tables and sofas for meetings. There is also a facility of TV. Not only this, there are comfortable beds for sleeping.
These luxury trains were designed for tourists visiting Crimea. But Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Since then, these trains have been used to transport world leaders and VIP guests in times of war.
These trains have diesel engines instead of electric engines. The reason for this is that the train continues to operate normally despite the power grid being affected in the attacks. The credit for the successful operation of these trains goes to Kamyshin, the CEO of Ukraine Railways. He was appointed CEO of Railways in 2021. Under his leadership, the movement of trains has been normal across the country.
At the same time, they especially keep an eye on security during the travel of VIP guests in these special luxury trains. Due to this, till now not a single case of security breach has been reported in these trains.
Diplomatic move!
PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine is more than a diplomatic mission. It is also being seen as his diplomacy of balance. PM Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in July itself. He is going to meet President Zelensky in Ukraine only after meeting Putin. In a way, this will be PM Modi’s fourth meeting with Zelensky.