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| Mamata takes charge as railway minister in Kolkata |
| BS Reporter / Kolkata May 27, 2009, 00:55 IST |
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Announces travel passes for poor, promises funds for freight corridor
Mamata Banerjee started her tenure as the Union railways minister in the UPA government by announcing projects for West Bengal.
In a deviation from tradition, Bengal’s firebrand leader today assumed charge as minister at the Eastern Railway headquarters here, instead of Rail Bhavan in New Delhi. She said the need of the hour was to be with the people affected by yesterday’s cyclone, Aila.
She said her ministry would soon take up work on the eastern part of the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) planned between Ludhiana and Howrah and will aim to complete it in record time.
The DFC is aimed at augmenting the railways’ freight carrying capacity and would enable freight trains to run at 80-90 kmph, compared with the current speed of 25-30 kmph. “The DFC will benefit industry in the area, especially the coal, power and steel industries,” said Banerjee. She, however, declined to comment on land acquisition issues related to the project.
The project had got an in-principle nod from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in November 2007. According to earlier estimates, the dedicated multi-modal, high-axle load freight corridor would cost around Rs 28,181 crore, of which the eastern corridor would need Rs 11,859 crore and the western one Rs 16,592 crore. The eastern corridor will start from Ludhiana, pass through Ambala, Saharanpur, Khurja, Allahabad and Sonnagar, and connect Durgapur and Kolkata through a feeder route.
Dwelling on the ‘human face’ of the Indian Railways, the new minister announced special monthly travel passes for people with income below Rs 500. Banerjee said, “My ministry will provide special monthly travel passes for people in the unorganised sector, especially those coming from villages to the city for work and having a monthly income of less than Rs 500.”
Banerjee also promised to extend the Shalimar-Digha express up to Kolkata and make it a daily train. Currently, tourists to the sea resort of Digha, around 170 km from Kolkata, do not have direct connectivity from the state capital. “Some block stations need to be created on the way and we will work on that,” she said while introducing the Howrah-Digha Kandari Express.
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