Centre asks state to aid in rail infra

Union minister of state for Railways K H Muniyappa has asked the state to submit a list of its demands for development of railway network in the state to the Centre before January 15, 2010.

He told reporters after reviewing the progress of various railway projects with state minister for infrastructure G Janardhan Reddy here, he will discuss with the railway minister Mamata Banerjee the possibility of taking up necessary steps to complete pending railway projects in the state in a time-bound manner.

He said the ministry has initiated steps to speed up works in the state and improve railway network. There are 19 railway projects under various stages in Karnataka and funds have been released to complete them, he said.

Muniyappa said the proposed Duronto to Howrah would cover the 1,946 km distance in 29 hours, over seven hours shorter than existing services. This train had been introduced as there was a major demand for trains between the tech hub and West Bengal.

For Karnataka, he said of the 14 new trains announced in the Railway budget, seven have so far been introduced and the rest would start running before February.

Muniyappa promised to look into the request by local MP and BJP leader H N Anantkumar, who urged the minister to consider introduction of circular trains around Bangalore. The minister said two local trains would soon be introduced between Yeshwantpur (Bangalore) and Anekal and Devenahalli, where the airport is located, on the city outskirts.