Railway Minister inaugurates gauge conversion project

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday flagged off two trains to mark the completion of Rs. 260 crore gauge conversion of the 122 km Loharu-Sikar railway line in Rajasthan.

Both trains were flagged off by Prabhu through remote control by organizing video conferencing between Rail Bhawan, (New Delhi) and Sikar, (Rajasthan).

Prabhu pointed out that sufficient funds have been provided in 2015-16 for the balance portion of this project i.e. Jaipur-Ringas-Churu so as to complete it by March, 2017.

Speaking on the occasion, Prabhu said "Gauge Conversion of this 122 km. Railway Line was sanctioned in 2008-09. It has been completed at a cost of about Rs. 260 crores. The project was languishing due to shortage of funds."

He said that with the introduction of direct Train from Sikar to Delhi Sarai Rohilla, the districts of Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts of Shekhawati region of Rajasthan has come nearer to the national capital. The new train between Rewari and Sikar will also connect the people of Rewari and Bhiwani Districts of Haryana with those of Sikar and Jhunjhunu Districts of Rajasthan.

"Development of rail infrastructure in Rajasthan is a priority for Indian Railways, as this state is strategically located between ports of Gujarat and Northern India. Towards this, an outlay of about Rs. 2450 crores has been provided in the current financial year for network expansion in Rajasthan, as compared to about Rs. 700 crores provided in 2014-15. It is necessary to develop railway connectivity in Rajasthan so that full potential of Rajasthan could be realized," Prabhu added.

Indian Railways has taken yet another step forward in meeting the long pending demands of the people by providing connectivity from Delhi to Sikar by introducing a new train service viz. 14811/14812 Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Sikar Express (Bi-weekly) after completion of gauge conversion of Loharu-Sikar section.

Prabhu, in his statement, committed to improve railway connectivity in all the states and that Central Government and State Governments should together work for completing railway projects.