Letters: On the right track

This refers to the editorial "Another lost year" (February 13). The interim Railway Budget for 2014-15 has turned out to be a disappointment for all railway users. Moreover, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge was derailed by the Telangana protests and was forced to cut his speech short. Although the interim Budget will not have a lasting impact with the Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, novel ideas such as equipping the rail coaches with fire extinguishers and bio-toilets are the need of the hour. For a system that carries over 24 million passengers and around 2.8 million tonnes of freight daily, safety measures are inevitable. Revamping railway tariffs and allowing foreign direct investment will infuse the necessary momentum to upgrade the railway infrastructure.

Vivek George Alappuzha

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