The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Railway budget to be people-friendly, says Minister

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Railway budget to be people-friendly, says Minister

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Railway Budget to be presented in Parliament later this month will be people-friendly, Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu has said.

He was speaking after flagging-off the Garib Rath bi-weekly Superfast Express between Kochuveli and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at the Central Station here on Friday.

The Minister said the United Progressive Alliance would ensure that the people did not have to suffer on account of train travels.

“This year’s railway budget will be a budget without tears,” Mr. Velu said pointing out that the railway fares were not hiked last year also.

Poor man’s interest

Mr. Velu said the government would introduce all the 40 trains that were announced in the last budget before the month-end. The delay in getting the rake had led to the hold-up of introducing the Garib Rath.

“We have taken care of the poor man’s interest. The poor can travel in AC coach and the fare is 40 per cent less,” he said.

He said that Indian Railways was performing well and was passing through a golden period. The thrust was on improving passenger amenities and to connect the far-flung areas to the railway network. A sum of Rs.495 crore was allocated last year for passenger amenities alone.

Cross-subsidisation

Mr. Velu said the Railways had to suffer Rs.450-500 crore loss in passenger train operation.

The losses were covered through cross-subsidisation and movement of freight traffic.

Promises support

Minister for Law M. Vijayakumar, who is also in-charge of Railways, promised all support of the State government to the development projects.

He urged the Centre to provide more trains to the metros, speed up introduction of suburban trains, Shoranur-Mangalore electrification and doubling works.

Former Union Minister O. Rajagopal, Francis George, Panniyan Ravindran, both MPs; district panchayat president Anavoor Nagappan, V. Sivankutty, MLA; Mayor C. Jayan Babu, Divisional Railway Manager Titus P. Koshy, and Additional Divisional Manager H. Sulthan Mushathick spoke.

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