Bengal eyes rail budget slice for Metro

KOLKATA: Bengal is poised to reap the fringe benefits of UP’s new power equations in the railway budget that will be presented in Parliament on Wednesday. The budget, the third in UPA 2’s tenure, will be the first instance of a Trinamool Congress leader other than Mamata Banerjee reading it out when the party has been part of a ruling coalition.
But the state that she showered with sops in the two previous rail budgets may yet grab a big pie, especially for the slew of Metro projects under way in the city.
More funds for infrastructure projects would be in line with the report of the expert committee headed by telecom czar Sam Pitroda, which said the railways would require 2,50,000 crore from the government in the next five years for capacity augmentation and modernization. The question experts are asking, though, is where the money will come from.
“There may be trains like a Duronto Express to Chennai and an express train from Howrah to Mysore,” a railway official said. “The railways may also explore the possibility of running long-distance trains from places like Barrackpore or Digha. There are reports that a new train to Kathgodam may be introduced. There may also be a train from Santragachhi to Bhuj in Gujarat. If the Metro projects in Kolkata and suburbs are to progress satisfactorily, major allotments will be required.” The official added.
Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi may make also announce plans to utilize space around major stations for multiplexes and commercial structures.
According to sources, Trivedi was keen to grant more powers to the Railway Protection Force in a bid to provide more security to passengers. Mamata has, however, objected to granting more power to the RPF, which is a central force. The chief minister is against any interference in the state’s authority over law and order.
"This may have an adverse impact on Metro railway’s plans to post more RPF personnel along its network and do away with the Metro Railway Police, which is a part of Kolkata Police. The railways was also considering the possibility of bringing the Government Railway Police under a single umbrella to do away with the problems faced over jurisdiction. Should this issue remain unresolved, train travel will remain as insecure as ever," an official said.
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