Southern Railway, which got a higher allocation this time compared to the previous year, will make full use of the funds to speed up the ongoing works such as new line, gauge conversion and doubling works, Vashista Johri, General Manager of Southern Railway, said here on Wednesday.
Talking to The Hindu before inaugurating the Rail Museum at Mettupalayam on Wednesday, Mr.Johri said that funds will not be a constraint and impetus will be on speeding up works. The Pollachi – Palakkad line has been inspected by the Commissioner of Rail Safety and clearance was expected any time. Similarly, the Coimbatore - Pollachi gauge conversion works are also gaining momentum and would be completed in 2016.
With regard to the nearly Rs 1 lakh crore funds infused from outside, Mr. Johri said that these funds could be used to improve facilities and for projects that will bring in adequate returns.
On the the nearly 700 unmanned level-crossings, Mr.Johri said that Southern Railway was working on a roadmap to eliminate these unmanned level-crossings either by manning them or by constructing subways or bridges over a period two-and-a-half years.
Mr. Johri said that Southern Railway was better placed to meet the growing demand for locomotives and coaches. Only because of availability of adequate coaches, it was able to run many special trains and augmenting coaches on many trains on a temporary as well as permanent basis.
Regarding service delivery and passenger experience, Mr. Johri said that On Board Housekeeping has been introduced in eight trains and tenders have been finalised for introducing the facility on 30 more trains. In a phased manner, Southern Railway would extend it to all long-distance trains.
