Budget draws praise and brickbats

: Both disappointment and praise poured in for Union Minister Suresh Prabhu’s railway budget presented in Parliament on Thursday.

While some passengers at the Ernakulam Junction railway station thought the budget was accommodative some like Sameer opined that it was outright neglect as usual. “The only saving grace is the limited allocation for track doubling. SMS alert of the time of arrival of train at the departing stations sounds a novel idea,” said Sameer, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram employed at Angamaly.

Anilkumar who often travels to the city from Piravom in connection with his Ayurveda business said that the fund allocation for doubling is a huge relief.

“We cannot ask for more trains unless doubling works are completed. Also the State government must share the cost of doubling rather than looking up to the Centre to fully cover the cost,” he said.

Regi Antony, who shuttles between Mahi and Kochi often, said the authorities must do something to assure that unreserved passengers received their tickets within five minutes.

“There had been instances where I missed trains simply because the person manning the counter couldn’t handle the computer fast enough,” he said.

Harikrishnan, a weekend commuter between his home at Kanjirappally and Kochi where he is employed, has no doubt that the budget has been extremely benevolent to the State.

“Allocation for doubling works is critical since it is the priority area,” he said.

Sajini, a nurse with a private hospital in the city, is glad that the minister has thought about the security of women passengers manifested in the proposal for installing surveillance cameras. The decision not to hike fares is also a welcome measure, she said seated on the Kottayam-Kollam passenger.

Venugopal, a transport company manager from Mannanam, had just one expectation from the budget. “Forget about new trains and extensions; just make sure that trains operate on time.

Ever since the time table was overhauled recently not a single train has managed to keep time,” he said.