Passenger amenities get a big boost

Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu on Saturday dedicated several projects and passenger amenities in the Chennai, Tiruchi and Madurai divisions of Southern Railway.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister said the railways was focussing on completely changing the travel experience of passengers, right from reservation to stations and on the trains. Nearly 40,000 coaches were being retrofitted to ensure speed and safety and the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, would be utilised for this, he said.

The projects include the fourth line between Ennore and Tiruvottiyur stations that will help ease congestion in suburban services in north Chennai. As part of Chennai Beach – Athipattu fourth line project, the Ennore- Tiruvottiyur (7 km) section has been commissioned at a cost of Rs. 42 crore.

State Finance and Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar urged the Centre to allocate enough funds to implement long-pending projects in Tamil Nadu, including doubling of the line from Chennai to Kanniyakumari.

Mr. Prabhu dedicated two elevators at the Chennai Egmore railway station to assist people with disabilities and the elderly at a cost of Rs. 37 lakh; LED lighting at 17 stations across the Chennai division; a food plaza at the Tambaram station, refurbished food plazas at Tiruchi and Madurai stations and wi-fi at the Arakkonam junction.

Earlier, delivering the 33rd Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture on ‘Putting India on the Fast Track’ at the Ethiraj College for Women, Mr. Prabhu said the government would invest heavily in railway infrastructure — not only to enable ease of doing business, but also to quicken the speed of doing business. “I have created a report, which will be released soon. Railways alone has created and will create a few crore jobs because we are making this investment. For a rupee invested, we will have a multiplier effect and that is what will help the economy,” he said.

Tribute to Palkhivala

Mr. Prabhu paid tribute to Mr. Palkhivala, recalling that as a youngster, he would attend his speeches on the Budget. T.S. Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner, participated.

Speaking at a seminar on “GST - A great positive game changer for India” organised by the Southern India Regional Council of The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Mr. Suresh Prabhu said that in the long term GST would benefit every citizen.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/passenger-amenities-get-a-big-boost/article19143793.ece