Addressing the gathering, Banerjee said the plethora of railway projects initiated in Bengal will provide ample opportunity for employment generation.

“Nearly one lakh people will be recruited for the two industries in Dankuni. The ministry will engage 3,000 personnel to guard the gates of unmanned level crossing each year for the next five years,” said Banerjee.

The two units at Dankuni will come up on the recommendations of Amit Mitra, chairman of the Railways expert committee, said Banerjee.

She said that more ancillary industries and logistic hubs will come up in Dankuni as the place will soon be connected with Kolkata Port, Dum Dum junction and several parts of the country through the freight corridor.

“A technical training institute will shortly come up in Dankuni for imparting training to 500 to 1,000 students every year, who would be absorbed in the Railways as apprentices. The Railways also plans to maintain a relation with IIT-Kharagpur and IIT- Kanpur by providing direct employment opportunity to students of these institutes,” said the minister.

She pointed out that the ministry recently issued an order seeking to absorb all 1,100 acting apprentices as permanent railway staff.

There are other projects also in the pipeline: six new express trains, including Duranto and Yuba trains, to be flagged off on December 30; and the foundation stone laying ceremony for Metro rakes repairing industry in Noapara and Tapan Sinha Memorial Metro Hospital to be held on January 6 and 8 respectively.