Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

State got due share in rail budget: Velu

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, OCT. 5. Denying charges of step-motherly treatment to Tamil Nadu, the Union Minister of State for Railways, R. Velu, today said the State was getting its due share in the railway budget.

He was talking to newsmen after inspecting the ongoing Irugur line-doubling project, Railway Satellite Cargo Terminal and Inland Container Depot at Irugur.

`No bias'

Mr. Velu said budgetary sanction for respective railway zones were being made on the basis of a scientifically evolved formula thus eliminating chances of bias or favouritism. Even in the recent announcement of 14 new trains, Tamil Nadu had got four new trains. In the budgetary allocation, Tamil Nadu got Rs. 357.57 crores last year and in the current fiscal the allocation had gone up to Rs. 397.9 crores.

New divisions

To a question on creation of new divisions or zones, he said such decisions were always taken only on the basis of prescribed parameters. Of the total 16 zones in the country, only nine were "economically viable" while seven were in the red.

Hence, the new divisions and zones would only lead to overheads.

Decisions on new zones or divisions just cannot be based on economic viability. However, he said the demands and feasibilities would be examined in due course.

The Railways was giving thrust to opening food plazas to be run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). While a food plaza would be shortly opened in Tiruchi, similar ones were coming up in Madurai, Coimbatore and Chennai.

Janshatabdhi Express

To a query on converting the Coimbatore-Thanjavur Janshatabdi Express into an Inter City Express to increase passenger patronage and make it affordable, he directed the officials to examine the feasibility and expedite a decision on that.

On the demand for an overnight express train from Coimbatore to the southern districts, Mr. Velu assured that an overnight train would be introduced once the development works in the Madurai-Dindigul section was completed.

Train extension

The plea for extending the Palakkad-Thiruvananthapuram Amrita Express to Coimbatore at this end and up to Nagercoil on the other end for catering to the needs of the Keralites in Tamil Nadu would be considered by March next, he said.

The railways was waiting for the completion of the pit-line and sick line coach maintenance facilities in the Coimbatore Junction for accommodating more terminating trains, the Minister pointed out.

Similarly, the Erode-Chennai Express, which is run via Karur and Tiruchi, would also be extended up to Coimbatore once the pit-line facilities were commissioned.

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