Integrated Transport System for major cities in the country- Railway Minister

The Railway Ministry has mooted a concept of Integrated Transport System for major cities in the country in an effort to provide modern transport solutions and decongest cities.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said he would be holding a meeting with the chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis over the next weekend to discuss on preparing a concrete proposal for Mumbai to begin with.

"I will also be meeting Udhav Thackeray along with the chief minister of Maharashtra to discuss the issue of providing holistic integrated solutions to Mumbai," Prabhu said, here after launching several new amenities at Bengaluru city railway station.

He said the ministry is working on completely modernising the railway network in the country. "We have a great opportunity to develop the railway network in the country. Over the next five years we will invest Rs 8.5 lakh crore and double it in the subsequent five years," Prabhu said.

The integrated transport system would be developed in other major cities like Bengaluru, Chennai among others subsequently, he said.

As far as Karnataka is concerned, which is lagging its neighbours in railway density, Prabhu said the ministry was working towards forming a separate company for the state to undertake several pending projects including the suburban railway network on the model of Mumbai city.

"I am in discussion with the chief minister of Karnataka to create the new company dedicated for Karnataka in which the state government and railways will have partnership and work for the development of railway network in the state. The ministry is willing to partner with the state government to develop much better transport network," he said.

The Karnataka government has been demanding for sanction of suburban railway network for Bengaluru city for many years. Already, a detailed project report has been done and submitted to the railway ministry. A special purpose vehicle has also been incorporated to implement the project, which requires an estimated Rs 8,759 crore. The state government has already committed to share 50 per cent of the cost in its proposal sent to the railway ministry, said H N Ananth Kumar, minister for chemicals and fertilisers.

Responding to Kumar's remarks, Prabhu said, "I am personally committed to developing suburban railway network for Bengaluru city. It involves cooperation from various ministries and we will sit together very soon to finallise it and realize the dream of providing a modern transport system for Bengaluru city."

Unveiling his dream of modernising the Indian railways like what China achieved in the last three decades, Prabhu said the ministry was working towards raising necessary funds to undertake several projects. Recently, the ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Life Insurance Corporation of India to raise Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Of this, Rs 30,000 crore is likely to be raised during the current financial year, he added.

In addition to mobilising funds, Prabhu said he has asked corporates to contribute funds out of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds so that they can join hands in the development of modern railway network in the country.

Source :Business Standard