The Hindu Business Line : Railway Budget: Lalu plans State-wise meets for inputs

Reducing travel time: Mr Lalu Prasad, Railway Minister, flagging off the passenger train service between Mangalore and Bangalore at the Mangalore Central Railway Station on Saturday.

A.J. Vinayak

Mangalore, Dec. 8 The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav — who has given four budgets to the nation — is planning to call a State-wise meeting of MPs for inputs to prepare the new Railway Budget .

Flagging off the passenger train service between Mangalore and Bangalore here on Saturday, Mr Yadav said the next Railway Budget will be presented in February and will be a magnificent one (Desh ka agla budget ek adbhut budget hoga). “I will call meetings of MPs State-wise. I will ask what their necessity is, and discuss what we can do for their respective areas,” he said.

Focus is on the common man while preparing the budget. The last four budgets have proved this. As a result, Indian Railways deposited a surplus of Rs 20,000 crore with the Government, Mr Yadav said.

He said the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had stated in his Independence Day speech that India has among the top three railway systems in the world and wanted to take it to the No. 1 position. “We will write a new story in the history of Railways,” he said.

Route demands

On demands for the introduction of more trains on various routes, he said that the existing lines are saturated and congested. To provide better service to customers, the Railways is planning to put a third line between Ludhiana and Howrah.

The Indian Railways, which consumes nearly one-third of the diesel in the country for its trains, wants to make all its lines ready for electrification, he said.

Highlighting the role of infrastructure and power sectors in the development of the nation, Mr Yadav said the development of these sectors are essential for providing food (roti) to the people.

He also stressed the need for changing the syllabus in the current education system to meet the needs in the competitive world.

“The magic (jaadu) in the turnaround story of Indian Railways is only a beginning. Many more such good things will come,” Mr Yadav said.