Railway budget: Coimbatore industry associations sore over continued neglect

Industry associations in Coimbatore have voiced their dismay over the continued neglect of Coimbatore by the Railways with the new Railway Minister choosing not to concede any of the major demands of the region for new train services.

But they have welcomed some of the proposals such as revamping of the railway ticket reservation system and the thrust on improving passenger amenities, announced by the Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda.

R R Balasundharam, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore (ICCIC), said his association wanted to express its “deep concern and disappointment” over the fact that none of the long-pending demands of the people of the region, for instance, an overnight train between Coimbatore and Bangalore, found a mention in the Budget.

He said the Railways should complete gauge conversion work between Coimbatore and Pollachi quickly as it would enable exporters from the region to transport export cargo by rail from here, to be shipped from Tuticorin Port.

J James, President, Coimbatore district unit of the Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises (TACT), said it was disappointing that the new railway projects were focused on North India, Karnataka and Gujarat and not the entire nation. He expressed the fear that if the Railways were to accommodate the corporate sector, it would lose its focus as a service organisation rendering public service and become a profit centre for corporates. That there were no new trains to benefit Coimbatore in the Budget and the announcement that train fares would be linked to fuel price, also were disappointing.

A Sakthivel, President, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA), was sore that no new trains to the Western region of the State were announced in the Budget and demands for night trains from Coimbatore to Bangalore and Tuticorin were ignored. He hoped that the introduction of the Diamond Quadrilateral network for high-speed trains linking five major cities would be extended to the Western region of Tamil Nadu too.

However, the industry associations welcomed several announcements for improving safety and providing passenger amenities, mechanisation of loading and unloading of goods, introduction of a next generation e-ticketing system and plans for FDI in Railways.

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