Kerala did not get much barring a passenger train and a survey for a rail link in the Railway Budget. The State had to be content with the Byndoor- Kasaragod daily passenger from the 72 new trains and survey for the Kanhangad- Panathur- Kaniyuru line from among the 28 surveys for new lines and doubling announced in the budget.
Cheriynad and Vadakara are among the 10 locations identified for temperature-controlled storages for transport of fruits and vegetables by rail in partnership with the Central Railside Warehousing Corporation to fetch better price for the produce.
The State does not figure in the Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail for connecting metros and growth centres, 10 sectors where speed of trains is to be increased to 160 to 200 kmph, and 10 stations and junctions identified for total station development in the PPP mode.
The budget is silent on the State’s prime demand for an exclusive peninsular zone. The Rs.3,330.78-crore rapid rail transit system on the Thiruvananthapuram- Chengannur- Haripad stretch pitched by the State for short-distance travellers also did not find a place in the budget.
There is relief for the State as bifurcation of the Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad divisions to create new divisions in Mangalore and Tiruneveli was not announced.
The allocation for the ongoing projects such as doubling, gauge conversion, and surveys was almost similar to the one provided in the interim budget, a railway official told The Hindu.
