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Nothing for Mumbai railway: Commuters miffed, officials await Pink Book
With no announcement for suburban railway projects in the 2020-21 Union Budget, railway passenger associations in the city are miffed. While they claimed that the
With no announcement for suburban railway projects in the 2020-21 Union Budget, railway passenger associations in the city are miffed. While they claimed that the focus of the Union Budget was to only increase privatisation in Indian Railways, railway officials said they would wait for the fine print to check the allocation of funds for Mumbai suburban section.
“The Budget was of two-and-a-half hours and Railways was given hardly two-and-a-half minutes. The Indian Railways provides a major chunk of income and no money has been allocated for improving train services or introducing new passenger amenities,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.
“It is a sad Budget as the focus on Railways was completely on privatisation and investment. We hope that the Pink Book allocates funds for major railway projects including the Mumbai Urban Transport Project [MUTP]… only then can work can begin in full force,” said Gupta.
Railway passenger associations claimed that the announcement for Railways in the Budget was not for middle-class commuters.
“The Budget has entirely focused on privatisation and not on the issues faced by middle-class passengers. Increase in privately-operated trains, including Tejas, is a focus on higher income group passengers. If passengers have money they would chose airways, not Railways,” said Lata Argade, vice-president, Mumbai Railway Pravasi Sangh.
Railway authorities, however, stated that the allocation of funds for projects can only be understood after the Pink Book is tabled in the Parliament. “There will be allocation of funds for suburban projects and it will be done in the pink book. The book is likely to be tabled next week.” said a senior Central Railway official.
Officials are hoping that there would be adequate fund allocation for the new infrastructure projects proposed to be taken up to expand the suburban railway network and improve its capacity.
