Lucknow: In a series of announcements to give an infrastructural push to Uttar Pradesh, Railway minister Piyush Goyal approved a railway ancillary unit in Fatehpur, identified as one of 115 most backward districts in India.
Making the announcement on the concluding day of 2-day Investors’ summit, Goyal claimed that the unit would also feed Rae Bareli
Railway Coach Factory, the production capacity of which would be raised three times in days to come.
In order to give a fillip to wildlife tourism in the state, the railway minister promised to convert the metre-gauge rail line between Bahraich and Mailani into Heritage line enabling the people of UP and those who visit the state as tourists, to get the experience of a Europe-like ‘Heritage Train’ meandering through the forests of Dudhwa and Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuaries. He vowed to remove all the roadblocks hindering the project.
Taking a potshot at the previous UPA government for delaying Rae Bareli Rail Coach Factory, Goel said that the factory might have made a history for being inaugurated several times but failing to start until Modi government took charge at the Center. “It is now producing 600-700 coaches a year. We propose to expand this unit and take the production to 1000 coaches by end of 2018 and 3000 units by 2020. UP has already promised the land to us for the purpose," Goel said.
The minister also announced a proposed railway coach refurbishment factory in Jhansi to bring Bundelkhand to mainstream of development.
"This unit will be used to overhaul coaches of trains other than Shatabdi and Rajdhani so as to revive the old charm of train travel,” he said and added that Indian Railways had 300 acres of land in Jhansi for the purpose.
The minister also promised to clear an electric loco shed project in Gorakhpur. This is a project which CM Yogi Adityanath had proposed while representing Gorakhpur in Lok Sabha as MP. "The project was stuck following procedural issues in obtaining defence ministry's permissions," said Goyal.