The maiden budget presented by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu in Parliament on Thursday has disappointed the State as it has failed to address the development needs of the railway network.
Though an enhanced allocation has been made to speed up the much-delayed doubling of the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam section via Kottayam and Alappuzha, the prioritised needs have been totally ignored.
The path-breaking step of Mr. Prabhu not to announce new trains and lines in the budget has disappointed the commuters and political parties.
The rail coach factory at Kanjikode, that topped the list of the eight prioritised projects of the State, has been given an outlay of Rs.10 lakh and listed in the PPP mode.
Uncertainty prevails over the ambitious project of the State that was announced in the 2008-09 budget. The wagon manufacturing unit at Cherthala, another project announced in the 2011-12 budget, has failed to find any outlay in the budget.
The Angamaly-Sabarimala railway line that is aimed at putting Sabarimala into the railway map has been given Rs.5 crore, while the State had asked for Rs.160 crore. At this level of budget allocation, the project declared in 1997-98 may drag on for many more years.
The rail connectivity for the upcoming greenfield airport in Kannur and the Nilambur-Nanjangud railway line have been totally ignored. Surprisingly, the government had announced readiness for cost sharing for the 236 km railway line from Nilambur and had provided Rs.5 crore in the budget.
The pet project of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to commence suburban services from Thiruvananthapuram to Chengannur for catering to the needs of short distance commuters has also failed to make it into the budget. Automatic signalling system, another key project of the State and even supported by the Railways, has been ignored.
The demand to augment terminal facilities to handle coaches and coaching terminals at Nemom and Kottayam has not got the favour of Mr. Prabhu.
The only solace is the announcement of a second terminal in Kollam, token allocation for pit lines and stabling lines at Kochuveli, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode, and rake unloading facilities at Nilambur Road. The decision to construct 970 road over bridges and road under bridges as part of eliminating level-crossings in five years has benefitted the State.
