Rail budget: States demands fall on deaf ears

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  The Railway budget announced on Wednesday turned out to be the most disappointing  for the passengers in Kerala, despite the state having a strong presence in the Union Cabinet. The state was allotted a single new train and two MEMU (Mainline Electrical Multiple Units) services in the budget.Though the increase in the ticket fares has evoked mixed response, the gross neglect towards the state has led to widespread resentment among the passengers. The majority of demands in the 24-point memorandum submitted by the state were not considered. While Opposition Leader VS Achuthanandan expressed strong protest, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the budget failed to rise to the expectations of the state.New services: The new trains announced for the state include the Yesvantpur-Kochuveli weekly express and the MEMU services in the Palakkad-Coimbatore-Erode and Ernakulam-Thrissur routes.The Palakkad-Mangalore Express train will be extended to Coimbatore and  the Mangalore-Thiruvananthapuram Express to Nagercoil. The Bangalore- Kochuveli Express which now operates on three days a week will be made a   daily service.The budget announced better facilities at select stations under the Adarsh project. They include, Kannapuram, Manjeswaram, Nileswaram, Parappanangadi, Paravur and Pazhayangadi. New projects: The Railway Minister said discussions would be held for the high-speed project from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod. The wagon factory at Cherthala would be set up with private participation. A wind mill project will be set up in the estate aiming to produce 72 MW of power.    The budget was silent on several long-pending requests of the state and has repeated some announcements made in earlier budgets. Apart from a passing mention, the budget had no announcement on the modalities or functioning of the rail coach factory at Kanjikkode in Palakkad. So were  the demands for a peninsular railway zone and development of the Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode stations to international standards. A coach terminal will be built in Kottayam.New lines: The new line between Angamali and Kalady would be completed. The proposals for new lines in the  Kanhangad-Panathur,  and Sabarimala-Chengannur sector have been sent to the Planning Commission. Survey on six new lines will be held, including Kannur-Kannur airport rail link, Balaramapuram station-Vizhinjam port, Kollengode-Thrissur, Angadippuram-Ottapalam, Idappalli-Guruvayur and Chengannur-Thiruvananthapuram.