NEW DELHI: All railway stations having religious and tourist importance in the country would have better availability of amenities for passengers, said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday
Claiming this after conducting review of all rail projects at Varanasi, Vaishnaw said, "The Indian Railways has started providing better amenities for passengers at stations associated with religious and tourist importance and Varanasi is the oldest living city of the world with religious and spiritual grandeur."
He said that millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over country and abroad also arrive at Varanasi. "So the railway is providing the visitors the best amenities at Varanasi city and the Banaras railway stations," the minister told the media.
The minister also said that the Indian Railways has also started working to increase the rail network in the Indo-Gangetic belts, where a sizable population resides and areas continue rich with agriculture and industrial and handicrafts outputs.
Apart from this, the railway minister also inspected the rail workshop at Banaras Locomotive Works, where diesel and electric locomotives for railways are manufactured. He also interacted with the local public representatives and discussed about the ongoing railway projects.
The minister informed the local public representatives that before 2014, only Rs 1,100 crore was allocated for railways in Uttar Pradesh, which has now increased to Rs 12,000 crores per year by the present government.