THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A high-level team from Indian Railways will visit Kerala next week to study the feasibility of setting up a wagon factory in the State.

According to a senior Government official, the proposal is to have this project as a joint venture involving the Indian Railways and the State Government. Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan had mooted this proposal to Union Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad during their meeting in New Delhi on September 25.

Mr. Achuthanandan had called on Mr. Lalu Prasad to represent the case of rail development in the State. On the proposal for the wagon factory, the Union Minister is said to have responded by saying that the Railways required additional wagon manufacturing facilities because of its growth in recent times.

The Chief Minister, in his proposal, said that the State Government could provide the land required for the project by way of equity participation. Land is readily available. The Chief Minister plans to discuss at the political level and in the Cabinet the specifics of the State's participation in the joint venture. He has convened a meeting of officials of various departments next Tuesday to prepare the discussion points when the Railways team reaches here.

The proposed joint venture, involving the investment of hundreds of crores of rupees, will have considerable employment potential both directly and indirectly. Many auxiliary industrial units too could come up around the wagon factory. The Chief Minister perceives Alappuzha district as an ideal location for it, the official told The Hindu

Mr. Achuthanandan's meeting with Mr. Lalu Prasad was fruitful in certain other respects also. The Union Minister, reportedly, assured the Chief Minister an allocation of Rs.40 crore this year for building a new railway terminal at Veli, near here. Mr. Lalu Prasad has promised to come to Thiruvananthapuram later this year, when the State begins the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of its formation, to lay the foundation stone for the Veli railway terminal. The development of the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station at an estimated cost of Rs.150 crore is another immediate programme before the Railways.

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