TIRUCHENDUR: Union Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad Yadav flagged off the Chendur Express here on Sunday.
The train will run five days a week between Tiruchendur and Chennai Egmore, effective from Sunday. The train will halt at Srivaikundam and Kurumbur.
The Minister said that the name of Chendur Express was given following the request by V Radhika Selvi, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. The train would be operated on a daily basis soon, he said.
He said that the railway is the lifeline of the country and it extends to nearly 64,000 km. About 14 lakh employees are working in the railways and 13 lakh are getting pension, he said. The fare of railways is much less than that of the road transport, the Minister said, and added that the railways has Rs 1 lakh crore as excess fund.
The express would be extended to Delhi and a wagon for poor people would be operated from Tiruchendur to Delhi, he said.
The department of railways was not in the pink of health during the regime of Vajpayee-led government at the Centre, the Minister said.
He expressed happiness over the coincidence of ‘Thai Poosam’ festival with the inauguration of the Chendur Express.
‘ADVANI WON’T BE PM’
Coming down heavily on BJP leader L K Advani, the Minister said that he could not be the next Prime Minister. He accused the BJP of raking up the Ram temple issue, keeping an eye on the coming Lok Sabha elections. They are trying to divide the nation on the basis of religion, he alleged. Lalu said he had arrested Advani in 1990 when the latter had come to Bihar in Rath Yatra in support of Rama temple, when he was the chief minister there. However, Lalu exuded confidence that his alliance would again come to power.