The Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) shed at Kollam , which was set to be commissioned this week by the Railways has been further delayed.
The shed which was completed months ago was expected to be inaugurated by Minister of State for Railways Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy on October 8.
However, the resignation of Kotla, an MP from Karnool in Andhra Pradesh protesting against the creation of a separate Telangana state has put the project commissioning on hold.
According to a spokesperson of the Railways at the Southern Railways Headquarters in Chennai, they received a message stating that the commissioning of the shed will be postponed since they have not yet decided on who will launch the project in place of the Minister of State.
“The project has not been cancelled from the agenda, but was merely postponed. We expect to commission the shed at the earliest,” the spokesperson added.
During his visit to the state from October 8 to 10, the minister was expected to inaugurate the escalators at the Calicut railway station. After this, he was to inaugurate the manning of an LC gate at Alappuzha, one of the final LCs in the state which is to be manned. Now, that the MoS won’t be arriving, these projects will be inaugurated at a later date.
Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agarwal said that the work on the shed at Kollam was completed six months ago. He added that the delay in inaugurating the shed, along with the sanctioning of additional staff, was the only reason why the launch of the shed was being stalled.
Once the shed is commissioned, all MEMU trains plying within the division could undergo maintenance at the shed itself without having to be hauled to Palakkad every week.
According to sources, it was planned to sent the number of trained crew from Chennai to Kollam once the shed was inaugurated. The Railways has to bear an additional monthly expense of nearly `6 lakh on this account. The shuttling of a single rake to Palakkad was `50,000.
Apart from this, the railway passengers will be able to benefit from the commisioning of the MEMU shed because the MEMU services can be operated every day.