Surveys initiated for 14 rail routes: Kharge

Union Minister for Railways Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed that the fund allocation to SWR had almost been doubled after he became the railway minister and the state government had to release the matching grant of Rs 650 crore for the railway projects being taken up on cost-sharing basis.

Addressing a gathering before flagging off two new trains, one to Secunderabad (special train) and another to Kurla (Mumbai) from Hubli railway station here on Wednesday, Kharge said the state had so far released Rs 92 crores for the railway projects and it was yet to release Rs 550 crore in order to initiate the project works.

He said surveys had been initiated for as many as 14 new routes in Karnataka and based on the feasibility study, steps would be taken to release Rs 550 crore to initiate the project works.

The new train routes for which survey had been initiated included Wadi-Gadag, Gadag-Haveri, Dharwad-Bailhongal-Belgaum, Koppal- Sindanur, Haveri-Sirsi, Bijapur-Athani and others.

Referring to a newspaper report that he (Kharge) had expressed displeasure over the state government delaying the release of funds for the railway projects, the minister said that the state government was also extending necessary cooperation in executing the projects and the railway projects were such that everyone had to contribute their might for the expediting the projects.

He said, a total of 14,659 acres was required for railway projects in Karnataka and the state government had made available 3,899 acres so far.

"In order to expedite the railway projects in the state, the chief minister has convened a meeting with the SWR officials in Bangalore on Thursday at 11 am. I have directed all the SWR officials including the general manager to participate in the meeting and sort out pending issues on the railway projects," he said.

Referring to the various demands of the speakers at the gathering, Kharge said as of now there were several railway projects which need to be taken up in Karnataka, but there was a need to prioritise them so that more people benefit.

Kharge asked the elected representatives to come out with details on which railway projects to be taken up on priority in the state and he would during his remaining period as the railway minister would try to give justice to every region.

On the demand for new trains, Kharge said that nearly Rs 35 to 40 crore was required for running a new train.

He said that the Indian railways faced a revenue deficit of nearly Rs 25,000 crore for running 19,000 train services in the country.

While 23 million passengers travelled in the trains daily, it would come to 8 billion passengers per year.

The Union minister highlighted that it was the Railways which treated everyone equally and railway services were like ensuring the welfare of the poor.

He appealed to the railway employees, officials and also the passengers to ensure the survival of the Railways, which was now meeting the revenue deficit through its freight services. Subsequently he assured that demands for increasing the frequency of some trains would be looked into.

Flagged off
Flanked by Minister for Small Scale Industries Prakash Hukkeri, former chairman of legislative council Viranna Mattikatti, former minister Basavaraj Horatti, MP Pralhad Joshi, SWR General Manager Ashok Kumar Mital and a host of elected representatives, Kharge operated the lever fitted on the stage to switch on the green signal at the Hubli railway station and then flagged off Hubli-Secunderabad Triweekly Special and Hubli-Lokamanya Tilak Terminus (Kurla) Weekly Express.