BANGALORE/MYSORE/ MANDYA: Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda met passengers at Bangalore City Railway Station on Sunday morning and sought their suggestions to improve facilities at the station.
This was part of a surprise inspection which he began at 8.30 am.
Gowda also took a tour of the station and checked the efficiency of the booking counters, food plaza, dormitories, lounges and the emergency medical assistance centres.
He also inspected the water taps, escalators, toilets and other areas, a statement from the South Western Railways office said.
After the inspection, he boarded a train from Mandya and travelled in the general compartment till Mysore.
He interacted with regular travellers on board as well, officials said. Gowda made a few suggestions to the Divisional Railway Manager Anil Kumar Agarwal about how facilities can be improved at railway stations.
Mysore in Railway Tourist Circuit
In Mysore, he said he would include Mysore in the proposed Railway Tourist Circuit. He said doubling of the Mysore-Bangalore railway line will be completed by March and it will cut travel time between the two cities.
During his first visit to Mysore after the Railway Budget, he said shifting of Tipu’s armoury in Srirangapatna was the reason for the delay in completion of the doubling. Initiatives are on to find a solution for it and funds were sanctioned liberally to accomplish the task early, he said.
Admitting that the travel time between Bangalore-Mysore was high and it needed to be cut down, he said the proposal on speeding up of trains by increasing the speed from 160 to 200 kmph of the Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai will save time.
He arrived by the Mysore-Solapur Express from Mandya at 12.35 pm.
Incidentally, the train was delayed by more than an hour. Before he arrived, he also visited the Mandya Railway Station to check passenger amenities. He also checked the amenities in Mysore.
“I will ask the railway authorities and deputy commissioners to visit railway stations in their district once a week to ensure cleanliness and create awareness,” he said.
On whether India can afford `60,000 crore announced for the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, Gowda said the entire fund will not be sanctioned by the railway department.
In Mandya, he said the railways is considering a proposal to introduce high speed train service betwen Bangalore and Mysore for the convience of the passengers.
‘Won’t stall gulbarga rly division plan’
Gowda said, “As announced, foreign direct investmente (FDI) will be introduced and the cost-sharing of the project is about 30 per cent by the railways and the remaining by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The FDI will not affect operation of trains,” Gowda said. On the new Gulbarga railway division announced by former railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge, he said he would not stall the project.