The Hindu : Rly. to spend Rs. 15,000 cr. for linking metros

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 27, 2002

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National

Rly. to spend Rs. 15,000 cr. for linking metros

By Our Staff Reporter

Vijayawada Aug. 26. The Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, on Monday said that his Ministry would spend Rs. 15,000 crores to develop the infrastructure and other facilities on the "Golden Quadrangle'' connecting the four metropolis of the country.

The "National Rail Vikas Yojana'' would, among other things, be used to improve the speed of goods trains to 100 km an hour and to connect the rail lines to different ports of the country.

At a meeting organised in connection with the launching of the Jan Shatabdi Express between Vijayawada and Egmore, Chennai, here, the Minister said the amount of Rs. 15,000 crores was in addition to the Rs. 17,000 crores proposed to be spent for safety-related activities. In the next six years all the track renewal works would be complete as the utmost priority was to passenger safety and amenities.

In an oblique reference to the ongoing controversy over the bifurcation of the Eastern Railways, the Minister said he would take steps to develop rail facilities in the entire country. ``The Railway Minister does not belong to any State, he has to keep the entire nation's interest in mind while developing the rail facilities.''

The Ministry considered factors such as population, area and the practical requirements before taking up the projects.

The Minister of State for Railways, Bandaru Dattatreya, said that out of the Rs. 200 crores being spent for passenger amenities, Rs. 25 crores had been earmarked for Andhra Pradesh. The Railways would soon introduce potable drinking water "rail neeru'' as part of the passenger amenities programme.

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