Rajnath writes to Rail Min, seeks services for Lucknow

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has sought a slew measures, including a second terminus, from Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda to upgrade train services in his Lucknow parliamentary constituency.
In a letter, Rajnath requested that to decongest Charbagh railway station, Gomti Nagar railway station should be upgraded as second railway terminus.
Initially, train services for Delhi, Katra (JK) and Mumbai should be started from Gomti Nagar station via Charbagh in the next three months, he asked Gowda.
The Union Minister said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had laid the foundation stone for the second railway terminus at Gomti Nagar in 2003 and Rs 96 crore was sanctioned for the first phase, but the work was stopped later.

He requested that the work should be restarted and completed in three months.
The BJP MP also said that a strip of land was taken from the Lucknow Development Authority for doubling of rail line in Rakbganj section.

The work on this project was also stopped, he said and asked that it be restarted.
The Home Minister said that to drop commuters from Kanpur to Chowk, Daliganj and Lucknow city area, Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains have to go from Aishbagh to NER railway station at Charbagh which results in wastage of time.
He requested that the work on the rail be completed at the earliest so that EMUs coming from Kanpur could reach Gomti Nagar without wasting time.

Singh said that in 2004, construction of a sub-way between NR and NER railway station was started to facilitate movement of the passengers.
"Though sub-way was completed in 2004, but it could not be used as approach area was not developed," the Union Minister said.
The Rail Budget will be presented in Parliament on June 8.