First Rlys minister from Kerala raises hopes of largesse

First Rlys minister from Kerala raises hopes of largesse
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, SEPT 2: With the Railways getting its first minister from Kerala in 30 years, some pending projects in the southern state are now expected to be expedited.

O Rajagopal, who took over as Minister of State for Railways yesterday, said that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had this week approved a Rs 147.87-crore project for the electrification of the 320-km Ernakulam-Trivandrum route of the Southern Railway. He added that attention would also be paid to some of the other pending projects in the state.

However, he acknowledged that it would be improper to say that Kerala had been neglected as far as railway projects were concerned. Moreover, given the extremely precarious financial situation of the Railways, it might not be possible to fulfill all the demands of the states for railway projects.

Rajagopal took over as Minister of State for Railways after the resignation of his predecessor, Bangaru Laxman, who stepped down after his election as the BJP party president. Rajagopal, the Minister of State for Law, will be holding Railways as additional charge.

Soon after assuming office, he said that the Railways would be running special trains to clear the rush in the festive season. With Onam -- a festival of Kerala -- approaching, the Railways would run 16 special trains from September 7-18 on the Chennai-Mangalore-Bangalore and Trivandrum-Quilon routes to clear the passenger rush.

He also announced a special festival package for Maharashtra and Goa to cater to the passenger rush on the occasion of the Ganapathi festival. The minister said 18 special trains would be deployed between Mumbai and Goa till September 13 to clear the extra rush during the festival.

In addition, coaches would be added to the passenger trains running between Mumbai and Ratnagiri and in the Mandvi Express till September 14, he added.

For Tamil Nadu, he said, the Railways for the first time had planned a special train to run from Vasco to Tanjavur via Mangalore on September 5 and back on September 10 during the annual feast of Veliankani. Besides, one second-class sleeper coach would be added to the Chennai-Trivandrum Mail and the Chennai-Allepey Express, Rajagopal said.