Info on all railway bridges to be put out on 'Rail Drishti'

To ensure "transparency" in system, information regarding all rail bridges in the country would soon be made available for common people through newly-launched "Rail Drishti" portal, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said here Saturday.

He was in city to kickstart the makeover project for Byculla railway station, which is one of the oldest and busiest suburban stations on the Central Railway.

"Very soon, our 'Rail Drishti' portal would have information on the entire 1-1.25 lakh rail bridges across the country. It would entail all the vital details of a bridge such as its year of manufacture, the year of its auditing and about auditors.

"Possibly the phone numbers of auditors and concerned officials....(might be posted on the portal). All such information related to bridges would be made available in the public domain. Such initiative will ensure transparency and efficiency in the Railways," he said.

Addressing a gathering on the concourse of the station, Goyal said restoring heritage was not an easy task.

"I am quite happy that several people have come forward to restore beauty of this majestic station building and the entire premises. Everyone who has come forward to make this station beautiful, deserves big thanks," Goyal said.

City-based NGO "I Love Mumbai", led by BJP leader Shaina NC, had last year signed an MOU with the Central Railway (CR) for restoration of heritage and beautification of Byculla station.

The NGO has embarked on restoration work in association with conservation architect Abha Lambah.

Byculla was one of the original stations when the Bombay-Thane railway was inaugurated in April 1853.

The construction of the present building of the station started in 1887 and completed in 1891.

Shaina said this historic railway station needed urgent restoration in a holistic manner.

A senior railway official said the restoration works include removal of "insensitive and ad hoc additions on the facade, removal of paint from the stone facade, cleaning of stained masonry, restoration of damaged doors and windows, removal and upgradation of haphazard criss-crossing telephone and electrical wiring".

After the ceremonial launch of the project, Goyal inspected the station and various public amenities. He also interacted with commuters and railway staffers.