The Railway budget has evoked a mixed reaction in Tiruchi region.
Tiruchi District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association president Raju Rebero welcomed the move to provide bio-toilets in trains, but expressed disappointed over lack of announcement on new trains. He said more funds should be allocated for pending projects at least this year.
The Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu has said that no attempt had been made to restructure the Railways as it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Council secretary S. Pushpavanam said safety lies in strengthening the signalling systems. But the budget has no information on how it would be done.
By making the advance booking possible 120 days ahead, reservations may close much early. “Then they can sell the Tatkal at a higher rate and 50 per cent may be reserved for Tatkal. This amounts to an indirect fare hike”, he said.
While 36 coaches in a few trains were welcome, there has to be funding to extend the platforms. Till the Railway Minister comes out clearly on how he was going to mobilise resources, the budget could be termed only his wish list, Mr. Pushpavanam said.
The Federation of Consumer and Service Organisations has welcomed the increase in the number of unreserved coaches in trains.
In a statement issued here, M.Sekaran, president of the federation, said the organisation has been seeking such a move for long as a large number of people travel in unreserved compartments.
Though the Railway Minister has assured to provide priority for passenger welfare, safety and cleanliness, one has to wait and see the implementation of the measures, he said.
Referring to the Minister’s statement that announcements on new trains would be made within this Parliament session, Mr.Sekaran said people of the region were expecting the termination of the Pallavan Express at Tiruchi, restoration of the Bangalore Express, extension of the Jodhpur-Mannargudi Express to Tiruchi, extension of the Tiruchi-Karur passenger to Salem, and regularisation of the Tiruchi-Pune Express.
H.Ghouse Baig, secretary, Golden Rock branch of the Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu, said the decision to hold back introduction of new trains was a good decision as the Railway employees were under severe strain due to nearly two lakh vacancies. Whenever new trains are introduced, additional staff should be sanctioned.
Already, Railway projects worth crores of rupees are pending across the country. Since, funds are allocated in bits and pieces for different projects, there are huge delays which results in cost escalation over the year. Concrete measures should be taken to put the Railways on the right track, he said.
