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Railways to increase rolling stock

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI MARCH 18. The Railway Ministry has enhanced the allocation from Rs. 3119 crores to Rs. 3995 crores in the current budget for rolling-stock procurement to meet the next year's passenger and freight traffic targets.

The Union Minister of State for Railways, Bandaru Dattatreya, talking to presspersons here today said that as the Ministry had decided to introduce 50 new trains and to achieve a freight traffic of 525 million tonnes in the next financial year, it planned to increase the rolling stock, including locomotives, coaches and wagons.

Moreover, as the Ministry was planning to introduce trains with a speed of 150 kmph, it was necessary to go in for improved rolling stock, besides track renewal and signalling equipment. Already the trial run of train services with 150 kmph by the Konkan Railway was proved successful. "Soon trains with a speed of 150 kmph would become a reality".

For manufacturing passenger-friendly coaches, he said the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) at Kapurthala had imported 25 coaches from a German firm and their features would be incorporated in the new coaches.

On the defects pointed out by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, in EMU coaches manufactured by the ICF for the AP metro railway, he said they had been rectified and the first set of improved EMU coaches would be dispatched by the end of this month.

After an inspection by officials from Andhra Pradesh, the first set of improved EMU rakes would be handed over to the State. Twentyone additional features had been incorporated in the rakes and any further improvements suggested by the State Government would also be included. Claiming that the AP metro coach was the best coach ever produced in the ICF, he said hereafter this would be a model for future EMU coaches to be manufactured by the ICF.

Refuting the criticism that Delhi metro coaches were more elegant, attractive and sophisticated than the ICF coaches, he said while comparing various features one should look into the cost factor also. The cost of one EMU coach manufactured by the ICF was Rs. 1 crore as against Rs. 6 crores for an imported coach of the Delhi metro.

For the AP metro system the ICF had received orders worth Rs. 96 crores for 16 rakes of six coaches each. While eight rakes would be handed over to the Andhra Pradesh Government before June, the rest would be dispatched by September this year.

He said the Ministry had identified six projects in Tamil Nadu, which would be completed before the end of the next financial year. This included Thanjavur-Kumbakonam, Vadalur-Cuddalore and Rajapalayam- Tenkasi conversion projects.

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