Railway Budget should focus on connecting districts to metro cities: Tariq Anwar

The general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party of India (NCP), Tariq Anwar today said that the Railway Budget should seek to connect districts with metro cities.

Tariq Anwar told ANI, "Railway is the lifeline of India as lakhs of people travel through it. We welcome the idea of bullet trains but the major focus must be on connecting districts to cities. People belonging to lower working class travel the most through railway."

Reflecting on the recent hike in rail fare, Anwar said, "The Rail Budget is more or less meaningless now as the fares have already been increased. And now they will show in the budget that they are not hiking the fares. Government should have a big heart. They should improve the basic facilities provided to a commuter."

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader, Jay Panda also welcomed the idea of bullet train. But at the same time, he made it clear that it should not be at the cost of basic Railway facilities.

Jay Panda told ANI, "Some people are questioning the need of bullet trains. The government needs to come up with a balancing act and the backward situation of Railway should also be improved. Then people should not have any problem with the introduction of high speed train."

Railway Budget of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government for 2014-15 will be presented by Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda today.