CHENNAI: Welcoming the Railway Budget for 2015-16, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Thursday expressed confidence that the Railway Minister would make announcements regarding specific requests made by Tamil Nadu government regarding allocation of funds for already announced projects and about new trains to the State.
“The task for the Railway Minister and the Centre is clearly cut out. Considerable hopes and aspirations have been created and these have to be delivered upon and fulfilled speedily. Overall, we welcome the Railway Budget as it has not caused any additional burden to the common people while charting a path for the long term improvement of the Indian Railways,” Jayalalithaa said in a statement here.
The AIADMK supremo said Tamil Nadu had sought support for 10 critical new projects and 22 projects had been pending execution for want of funds and expressed confidence that these demands would be addressed adequately while announcing new trains. Welcoming the plans for raising an investment of 8.5 lakh crore over the next five years, she said the Railway Minister had planned to achieve a substantial improvement of the Operating Ratio in the coming fiscal year through efficiency measures.
Jayalalithaa observed that passenger safety, cleanliness, passenger amenities and environmental sustainability had all been accorded appropriate high priority. The proposal to purchase cheaper traction power by Railways should not be at the cost of the State power utilities, which were already bearing a heavy burden of providing essential service to a big range of consumers, she said.
Takeaways for tamil nadu
■ Tambaram as coaching terminal with Rs 10 crore
■ Thanjavur-Ponmalai doubling (46.96 km) with bypass line before Ponmalai (1.13 km): Rs 72.3 crore
■ Madurai - Maniyachi - Tuticorin (80 km): Rs 18.29 crore (Project cost: Rs 800 crore)
■ Tiruchchirappalli - Nagore - Karaikal with extension of Nagapattinam - Velankani-Tiruthiraipundi: Rs 20 crore