Navhind Times
with pics from Rajtilak Naik, Daijiworld.com, Goa

Panaji, Sep 20: Railways Minister Lalu Prasad on Tuesday said that Indian Railways would construct a dedicated multi-model high axle load freight corridors with computerised controls on Ludhiana-Kolkata and Jawaharlal Nehru Port-Dadri routes on eastern and western routes respectively at an estimated cost of Rs 22,000 crore.

Addressing a press conference at Radisson resort in Varca in South Goa in the afternoon, after attending the meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Railways, Mr Lalu said that the Union cabinet had approved the proposal and that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh would soon lay the foundation stone for the projects.

He said that construction of these corridors would not only meet the increasing demand for freight traffic but also relieve the existing rail lines for more passenger traffic. It will also help save precious diesel whose prices are going up steadily, as goods trains are held up to allow passenger trains to move first, he added.

Lalu addressing the media

Lalu also said that Indian Railways would undertake construction of road over bridges or road under bridges, if the respective state governments agreed to bear 50 per cent cost. This would help prevent accidents at railway crossings.

The Railway Minister will inspect the skybus project at Margao and also see a live demo of the anti-collision device tomorrow. He also asked the Konkan Railway Corporation officials not to abandon the skybus project. He also said that there was a proposal to link all the ports with railway lines.

Replying to a question on what were his proposals for Goa, he said that this was his first visit to Goa and that he was not familiar with the problems here. He also said that no proposal or suggestion has come either from the state government or any other agency. He, however, agreed to provide a halt at Kopargaon to enable Goans traveling by Goa Express to enable them to visit Shirdi.

Lalu speaking to children while at Radisson Resort

Lalu said that Indian Railways had made a turnaround from being a loss-making central entity to have a surplus of Rs 13,000 for the year and that the figure was expected to go up to Rs 20,000 crore next year. He also claimed that Indian Railways would write a new history in the days to come.

The Railway Minister also stated that he has proposal to construct world class facilities like malls, underground passages connecting various platforms, etc at major railway stations across the country with ultra-modern facilities. He also said that global tenders would be floated soon for the purpose. He said that the modernisation of railways would be carried out in phased manner at a cost of over Rs 25,000 crore.

Speaking out clearly

Stating that his ministry also has a proposal to construct facilitation centres at all the 7,500-odd railway stations in the country to process and sell the farm produce in a bid to help the farmers economically. He also said that facilities would also be constructed to store perishable items at the railway stations. He also said that ‘Garib Rath’ would be operational soon.

The mechanical ore handling facility at Xelvona in Sanvordem constituency will reduce pollution besides boosting iron ore exported from the state and also help import of coal. He said survey for the project has been completed.

He further said that the Indian Railways were number one in the world at the moment and set up here was better than those of major European countries. He said that the railways in European countries were being highly subsidised and were running into losses.

Among those present on the occasion were Union ministers of state for railways, Naranbhai J Rathwa and R Velu. The conference is being attended by members of Parliament and senior railway officials.