Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Trade and industry welcome introduction of train services

MADURAI: The trade and industry here has welcomed the several announcements, especially those on introduction of new train services, in the railway budget presented by Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said that the introduction of a new train in the Rameswaram-Madurai-Kanyakumari section was a “welcome move” by the Union government, considering the tourism potential in the region. The CII’s Madurai Zone chairman, Bharath K. S., was confident that the tourism sector would face an uptrend with the introduction of this train. He also hailed the introduction of a service between Tirunelveli and Bilaspur, which would help the growth and trade between south Tamil Nadu and eastern India. The move to extend the Madurai-Jammu Tawi Express to Tirunelveli would improve connectivity to north India from south Tamil Nadu. Aravind Srinivasan, vice-chairman, felt that the introduction of an additional biweekly train between Madurai and Chennai would ease the congestion in the section. The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the several passenger-friendly announcements made in the budget, like sale of train tickets through post offices and reduction in minimum charge under tatkal scheme. Though there was no increase in passenger and freight tariffs, the president of the chamber, S. Jeyabalan, felt that the Railway Minister could have offered a reduction in tariff, considering the fact that freight tariff receipts had risen by 11.4 per cent in 2008-09. The other welcoming features of the budget, he said, were announcements on non-stop train between Chennai and New Delhi and inclusion of Madurai, Tiruchi and Rameswaram in the list of 50 stations to be made world class. But the budget belied the expectations of south Tamil Nadu as none of the important schemes like doubling of BG line between Villupuram and Dindigul and Madurai and Nagercoil found a place in it, Mr. Jeyabalan said.

The Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association welcomed the announcements that would benefit passengers and the move to set up cold storage facilities. However, its secretary P. Subashchandrabose said, it was disappointing that the plea to revert foodgrains and pulses to Schedule 90 in tariff classification had not been conceded.

The Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA) welcomed the proposals like introduction of mobile vans for sale of train tickets and addition of ticket vending machines. The MADITSSIA president N. Somasundaram felt that there was no announcement on track doubling or electrification to spur industrial growth in Tamil Nadu. It was disappointing that there was no announcement on Madurai-Kottayam-Theni-Bodinaickanur railway project, he said.

The All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam president N. Sethuraman described the railway budget as a disappointment for people of south Tamil Nadu.

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