CHENNAI: Minister of State for Railways R.Velu on Saturday commended the Tamil Nadu Government for submitting feasible proposals for projects to enhance facilities and safety of passengers and the public.

A total of 29 Road Over Bridge (ROB) projects, implemented in the State at a cost of Rs.552 crore, would be completed next year, he said.

Shortly after holding discussions with Minister for Highways M.P. Saminathan, Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy, Secretary (Highways) K. Allaudin and Southern Railway General Manager Thomas Varghese at the Secretariat on the ongoing grade separation works, Mr. Velu said Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had, on Friday, assured him of the State Government's cooperation in the implementation of the projects.

Adequate funds were earmarked from the Central Road Fund for the State for the construction of grade separators, he said. From 1989-90, a total of 91 proposals for construction of ROBs had come from the State, he said, adding that 27 of them were executed.

Among the 29 ROB projects, implemented with 50 per cent contribution from the State, six were constructed in Coimbatore district, four in Villupuram district, three in Tiruvallur district, two each in Kancheepuram, Madurai and Vellore districts and one each in Salem, Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Kanyakumari districts. A total of six ROBs would be constructed in the Chennai Metropolitan area, he said.

Bottlenecks in the execution of these projects would be examined and necessary steps would be taken by the State and the Centre in a coordinated manner to ensure completion during 2007-2008, Mr. Velu said.

The State Government had forwarded 38 new proposals for ROBs to be taken up next year, he added.

Replying to questions, he said the project linking Egmore and Central Railway station would be finalised after examining the alignment of the metro rail track in the specified area, based on the detailed project report on the 27-km project from Chennai Airport to Tiruvottiyur. The report was likely to be submitted by the month-end , he said. .

Asked if the Railway Ministry was keen on extending privatisation of services, Mr. Velu made it clear that the Government was keen on promoting joint partnership, which had proved successful in schemes such as `own your warehousing, wagon system, track and container movement.' The Ministry's initiative in this regard had created a win-win situation for the public sector and the private sector, he said.

Though the Railways had proposed to lease its lands for commercial complexes, "we will not alienate our rights on these lands," he said. The Government had taken adequate care to ensure that the joint partnership projects did not affect the interests of the public or the passengers, he added.

The Railways operated around 1,400 special trains last year, he said, adding that during the current year, 1,100 special trains had been introduced.

The number of such trains depended on the line and maintenance capacity in different sections, he said.

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