Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, attending a meet-the-press programme in the city on Monday, appeared unaware of the long-pending demand for a peninsular Railway zone for Kerala and said that it was a “good suggestion”. The demand had come from different quarters in the wake of complaints that Kerala was being sidestepped by Southern Railway headquartered in Chennai and denied its share of projects and trains.
Similarly, he cited the model code of conduct for polls as a reason for not speaking on the renovation of Old Railway Station located behind the High Court and Harbour Terminus in Willingdon Island. The delay in reviving them had come under fire from commuters and members of the public. The tardy progress of track doubling work through Kottayam and Alappuzha too was criticised by commuters.
