Mumbai, Aug. 28 -- South Central Railway has set in motion 1,481 km of new-line, doubling and tripling projects at a cost of Rs 24,210.179 crore, equivalent to Rs 242.102 billion (bn), the zone's general manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava told a meeting with Members of Parliament. The projects are under way across the zone and span constituencies in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The meeting at Rail Nilayam was attended by Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy and 15 MPs.
Srivastava outlined the zone's performance in passenger services, freight loading, passenger amenities, station cleanliness and other initiatives, and said the SCR now comprises three divisions - Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Nanded - following a reorganisation in June. He said the restructuring had not affected progress and that the zone had achieved its targets and surpassed last year's performance. The official provided details of ongoing works and timelines.
40 railway stations in Telangana are being redeveloped at a cost of more than Rs 2,000 crore, or about Rs 20 bn, and four stations - Hi-Tech City, Begumpet, Karimnagar and Warangal - have already been commissioned under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme while work progresses at the remainder. Since April the zone has introduced four pairs of new trains and five pairs of Amrit Bharat trains; 14 trains have been extended to different terminals, 56 trains have been given additional stoppages and 30 pairs have been regularised. The release said these measures are intended to enhance connectivity and passenger convenience.
MPs welcomed the initiatives and raised issues relating to construction of road underbridges and road overbridges, proposals for new railway lines, requests for additional stoppages and extensions of services, and calls for improved passenger amenities. They urged the SCR to expedite project execution to ensure completion within the targeted timelines. Srivastava said the zone would give due consideration to the suggestions while formulating proposals for new works and services.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.