Priority for safety: Passengers unmindful of personal safety crossing the railway track at the Bangalore city station. “The death on rail tracks just can never be tolerated and it is not acceptable,” said the Union Railway Minister, Mr DineshTrivedi, in the railway budget 2012-13. — Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar
After several years, Karnataka has got a major railway project – a rail coach factory – which will come up in Kolar, near Bangalore.
It will also get a ‘safety village' as well as a 72 MW windmill plant.
The Union Railways Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, while presenting the Railway Budget 2012-13 said “Kolar in Karnataka and Kutch in Gujarat have been selected to set up new manufacturing units for coaches. The two projects are being taken up with the active participation of the State Government.”
The project is said to be the biggest investment in Kolar district after the Kolar Gold Fields, was set up during the erstwhile British rule, and the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) which has put up a modern dairy there a few years ago. Incidentally, the Union Minister for State for Railways, Mr K.H. Muniyappa, represents the Kolar constituency.
The State Government has promised land for the project as its share and is in the process of identifying the location.
The Railways is also planning to rope in the Karnataka Government for other cost sharing projects as well.
“These projects will be given special attention and processed on priority for obtaining requisite clearances,” said Mr Trivedi in his budget speech.
“Railways in the State on cost sharing basis plans to take up laying of new railway lines. The proposal to which has been sent to the Planning Commission for appraisal and ‘in-principle' approval,” he added.
New railway lines proposed are Gadag-Haveri, Gadag-Wadi, Chickballapur-Puttaparthy and Srinivasapura-Madanapalli. The Railways plans to introduction new AC double-decker daily train between Chennai-Bangalore.
Disaster Management
Mr Trivedi said Railways needs to possess modern, well-trained and equipped disaster management machinery.
The rescue and relief teams for the accident sites need specialised training where they can be engaged in hands on drills. “I plan to set up three training centres named as ‘safety villages' at Bangalore, Kharagpur and Lucknow.”
Green Energy
The Railways plans to give a push for environment-friendly initiatives.
Recently it celebrated the year 2011-12 as the ‘Year of Green Energy'.
In order to give more focus on environment-friendly projects, it plans to take up promotion of clean environment by setting up of 72 MW capacity windmill plants in the wind rich areas of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
The South Western Railways recently had identified a few locations in Chitradurga, Davengere and Gadag to set up windmill plants to harness wind energy as quality of winds at ground level were suitable.
The other projects of railways are to set up of 200 remote railway stations as “Green Energy Stations” powered entirely by solar energy; and providing solar lighting system at 1,000 manned level crossing gates in non-electrified territory to improve illumination and enhance safety of road users.
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Published on March 14, 2012
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