The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, left for a two-nation visit to Poland and war-torn Ukraine yesterday on August 21 from New Delhi. He arrived in Warsaw to a rousing welcome, becoming the first head of government from India in four decades to visit Poland. However, all eyes will be on his visit to Kyiv, which comes less than two months after his trip to Moscow.
The visit to Ukraine will focus on economic ties, defence, science and technology and will mark the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister ever to the country. He will also meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ahead of leaving for Ukraine, PM Modi stated that he was looking forward to meeting President Zelensky and strengthening bilateral cooperation and sharing perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict. He mentioned that India ‘as a friend and partner’ hopes for an early return to peace and stability.
Why is the PM travelling by train?
Interestingly, Narendra Modi will not be flying to Ukraine but will rather travel via a train from Poland.
Due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, all airports in the country are shut for safety purposes and the rail network is the safest option available. Previously, various other world leaders like US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also travelled to Ukraine by this train, called ‘Train Force One.’ It will be time consuming, the stay in Ukraine is likely to be around 7 hours, but getting there would involve around 20 hours of travel.
Train Force One:
The train was initially built for tourists in Crimea, in 2014 and is comparable to a high-end hotel on wheels. It has a beautiful, modern interior, with a large table for meetings, along with a plush sofa and wall-mounted TV. There are also special arrangements for leisure, sleeping and resting. Thus, it is well furnished ensuring a comfortable journey for its passengers.
Since the train has been used by VIP passengers, it boasts of some necessary and advanced security measures. It has armoured windows, secure communication systems, surveillance systems, a team of security personnel, to deal with any challenging situation.
The train is also an attempt to showcase to the world Ukraine’s resilience and technological prowess. In hosting international leaders like PM Modi through such secure and luxurious means underscores the country commitment to maintaining international relations amidst the conflict. While due to the damages inflicted, the travel time has increased, the Ukrainian railway system has managed to maintain train operations.
