Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Karunanidhi compliments Velu for initiating new rail projects

Special Correspondent

Flags off Garib Rath, a weekly superfast express train

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Wednesday flagged off the Garib Rath, a weekly superfast express service between Chennai Central and Hazrat Nizzamuddin.

He complimented Union Minister of State for Railways R.Velu for sanctioning new trains every year and initiating new projects in the State. He was confident that the present momentum in execution of railway projects would continue.

Mr. Velu said Tami Nadu would turn unigauge in three years. Except the Myiladuthurai-Tiruthuraipundi-Karaikudi and the Madurai-Bodi sections, all the other metre gauge sections had either been converted or sanctioned for conversion.

In the last two-and-a-half years, the Ministry had sanctioned funds for undertaking passenger amenity works in major railway stations in the State. There was no justification for the complaint of neglect raised by people in Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Tirupur. Passenger amenity works to the tune of Rs. 35 crore were on in these stations. The Ministry had sanctioned a number of rail overbridge projects in the State to ease congestion on major roads.

More such projects would be sanctioned in the coming budget. There was no dearth of funds.

Fears allayed

He allayed the fears that formation of the Salem division would affect the revenue of the Palakkad division.

Southern Railway General Manager Thomas Varghese said this was the third Garib Rath, the earlier being the Delhi-Patna and the Saharasa-Amritsar services. It provided passengers the luxury of air-conditioned travel at an affordable rate.

The fare would be 39 per cent less than that of the Grant Trunk and Tamil Nadu Expresses and 44 per cent less than the Rajdhani Express.

The running time would be the same as that of the Rajdhani and less than GT and Tamil Nadu Expresses.

Deputy Mayor R. Satyabama urged the Minister to extend the service to Kanyakumari.

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