Special Australian train to ferry attendees for PM Narendra Modi speech in Sydney

MELBOURNE: A special train will run from Melbourne to Sydney carrying over 200 passengers who will attend the public address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Australia, the first by an Indian premier in 28 years.

For the first time in the history of Melbourne, a train service will run under the name of a Prime Minister.

On Sunday, the train of four bogies would carry almost 220 passengers from Melbourne to Sydney who will attend the first and the only public address of Modi for Indian Australians to be held at Sydney next day.

Organised by the Overseas Friends of BJP here, the service has been named as 'Modi Express' to honour their leader and celebrate his first official visit as prime minister to Australia.

"This Modi Express will be a hell of a party time for all of the passengers," according to Ashwin Bora, spokesperson for OFBJP's Melbourne Chapter.

People from several communities even locals here have booked their seats on this train, he said.

With the support of rail authorities here, the train will be specially decorated with tri-colour balloons, Modi's posters and banners and pictures of iconic places of India.

Apart from this, organisers have also arranged free food for the passengers who will be served with delicacies like 'Modi Dhokla' and 'Modi Fafda'.

Bora said this train journey would be an experience in itself as there would be music and dance troupes travelling as well to entertain the passengers.

"This is unprecedented in the history of Indian politics. For the first time a prime minister has evoked such a enormous response throughout the world akin to a rockstar. People are thronging to see him and I'm no exception to that. I am waiting to be a part of this special train journey," Anjali Tikoo, one of the passenger of Modi Express, said.

Modi is due to visit Brisbane for the G20 conference on November 15 and is also expected to hold a public address on November 17 for which over 150,000 attendees have already registered.