Sluggish train traffic seen as MPs pull out all the stops for more halts

Already infamous for running late, trains in the country could now have more stoppages. The government is considering a proposal to enable Members of Parliament (MPs) to build places for trains to halt in their constituencies, using funds allocated for local area development.

These places for train halts would be small, unmanned stations with limited facilities. The construction could typically be done with an allocation of Rs 50-60 lakh.

“A station can be constructed only if it is feasible to make a train halt there,” a senior official involved in the process said.

The move may satisfy the MPs’ political needs but could increase travel times. The issue of train halts is a politically sensitive one since the MPs want more of these small stops to fall in their constituencies. In 2009, a reported move by the then railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, to change a policy of predecessor Lalu Prasad Yadav to have major trains stop at dozens of small stations in Bihar had led to protests in the state.

The Railway Board had that time reportedly asked the Eastern Central Region authorities to withdraw stoppages of as many as 33 trains, including Howrah-Patna Janshatabdi Express, Rajgir-New Delhi Shramjeevi Express and Toofan Express, at smaller stations.Officials said such halts could either be constructed afresh or existing ones could be re-modelled using the funds MPs get under the local area development scheme. The proposal forwarded by the railway ministry to enable MPs to spend their annual allocation on the construction of railway halts and stations is under consideration by the department of programme implementation, according to those in the know.

Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme, a grant of Rs 5 crore is released a year to every MP — from the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha — to carry out development work in his or her constituency. Before April 2011, the amount was Rs 2 crore. At present, the fund is allowed to be spent on the construction of bus halts and shelters.

Parliamentarians now have the freedom to recommend work such as the development of playgrounds, levelling of playgrounds in hilly areas, construction of boundary walls in villages and blocks under a special programme aimed at developing sports facilities in rural areas.

Similarly, in urban areas, MPLAD funds can be used for creation of durable sports assets such as multi-purpose sports halls, athletic tracks, football grounds, hockey turfs, etc.

Since its inception, the MPLAD scheme has undergone several changes and now the funds are also allowed to be used for some individual benefits, such as those for the physically challenged.