"Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav ji, Shri Rathwa ji, Shri Tobaccowala, Shri Batra, Shri Manmohan Malhoutra, friends of the Lifeline Express, officials of the Ministry of Railways I am delighted to be here today with Shri Lalu Prasad ji and all of you for the inauguration of the new and expanded Lifeline Express. Anyone who has seen the Lifeline Express in action, as I have many times, cannot but be moved by what it does, to bring back the joy of sight to those who have lost it, the gift of hearing to those who are living in silence, the capacity to walk to those who are immobile and the smiles to faces disfigured by cleft lips, is a noble undertaking.

"No wonder then, that too, the poor of the country living in the remote rural areas, the arrival of the Lifeline Express is a harbinger of hope. To them it is truly the Magic Train, its presence in their midst restores faith in our common humanity. Today’s ceremony is therefore more than just a flagging off, of the new hospital train, it is a thanksgiving for all that Lifeline Express has achieved over the last 16 years. It is also a renewal of its pledge to continue its mission of healing, reaching even greater numbers, through the additional coach provided in the new Lifeline Express, and, I am glad to say that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has been the biggest single sponsor of the Lifeline Express. With the Foundation’s support 33 Lifeline Express camps have been organized in 13 States in our country, throughout our country, transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people.

"There is one more reason to rejoice, thanks to the Minister of Railways, Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav ji the Lifeline Express is a joint project of the Impact India Foundation and Indian Railways. This shows what can be achieved through Public-Private partnership, the coming together of Government, NGOs and dedicated individuals working towards a common goal. Thousands of surgeons, doctors and other medical personnel have donated their services free, to the Lifeline Express setting an example to other professions. They have rendered outstanding and exceptional corrective and preventive services to half a million poor people in far flung parts of our country. They are the unseen and unsung heroes of this enterprise. Thank you. I thank them all.

"I would like to express my gratitude to Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav ji, who readily responded to the request, that the 13 year old coaches of the old Lifeline Express should be replaced by new ones. I extend my thanks to him and to everyone in the Railway administration, especially to those in the Integral Coach Factory at Perumbur, where I believe these new coaches have been custom built. I congratulate Mr. Tobaccowala, Mrs. Zelma Lazarus and the entire Impact India Foundation team for the energy and dedication which they have brought to this project ever since its inception, transforming a dream into a reality.

"It is most appropriate that they are now making the prevention of disability as important a feature of Impact India Foundation’s work as the corrective surgeries carried out in the Lifeline Express. Finally, my sincere thanks to the Rail Museum for hosting this event. The Rail Museum deserves to be better known. It is the repertoire of Indian Railway’s history bringing alive the romance of the train over the last 150 years and I hope everything possible will be done to make this Museum a major tourist attraction in our city and a lively resource of education for our children. I now have the great pleasure in wishing the new Lifeline Express many years of service to our people. Thank You."

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