Karnataka - Mysore   

Velu promises clean railway stations

Special Correspondent

All general managers asked to identify five stations in their zones for the project

A NEW FACILITY: Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu switching on a computer to inaugurate the new reservation centre in Mysore on Saturday. South Western Railway General Manager Trilok Nath Perti (right) and Mysore MP C.H. Vijayshankar (thir d from right) are seen. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: The Indian Railways has embarked on a modernisation plan and the metropolitan city railway stations and other important stations throughout India will be upgraded to international standards, according to Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu.

The Union Minister was inaugurating a computerised reservation counter at Kuvempunagar here on Saturday.

Focus on hygiene

Mr. Velu said the emphasis would be on hygiene, providing better amenities to passengers and international class infrastructure. All general managers had been asked to identify five stations in their respective zones for this.

In all, 337 railway stations would be made "model railway stations" as far as amenities to passengers were concerned.

Additional reservation counters, more comfortable retiring rooms, clean toilets, and longer platforms would be part of the new project. Mr. Velu said the modernisation plan was the fallout of the visits made by him and the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to various countries to study the functioning of the railway systems.

He said this could be called the golden age of the Indian Railways as it was no longer a loss-making organisation and had generated a surplus of Rs.11,000 crore during 2005-06 and was capable of generating Rs. 20,000 crore next year. To enhance the hygiene levels across the Indian railway systems, the authorities had decided to outsource state-of-the-art machinery and personnel to take up the task and reduce the operational cost of the railways.

All the coaches in the three Rajdhani Express and two Shatabdi Express trains had been fitted with "disposable discharge system" which would flush out the waste and would be activated only when the train attained a speed of 30 km an hour or more. This system ensured a high degree of sanitation because the waste was not discharged when the train was stationary and would help eliminate the stench that pervaded most railway stations.

The plan was to incorporate the system in 1,000 coaches every year in future, said the Minister.

The railways had constituted working groups in all divisions and these groups constantly monitored the sanitation level, he said.

Mr. Velu said the Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) was being introduced throughout the country under which passengers could buy a ticket three days in advance for any destination. This would eliminate the last minute hassles of standing in queues to buy a ticket or miss the train.

Safety

Reiterating the ministry's commitment to safety, Mr. Velu said Rs. 1,800 crore had been sanctioned for building road over bridges and road under bridges but funds were released only if the State governments initiated the process, acquired the land, clear the encroachments, made a provision in its budget and met 50 per cent of the project cost. Last year, 104 such projects were sanctioned, said the Minister.

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