E-Paper
NER to conduct survey on Shiv Ganga Express
THE RAILWAY administration will conduct an opinion survey among locals travelling by the Shiv Ganga Express on whether to run this train from Maduadeeh railway station (the new starting point) or Varanasi Cantonment railway station.
THE RAILWAY administration will conduct an opinion survey among locals travelling by the Shiv Ganga Express on whether to run this train from Maduadeeh railway station (the new starting point) or Varanasi Cantonment railway station.
Giving this information to mediapersons here, North Eastern Railway general manager Satish Kumar Veej said the decision to run the train from Maduadeeh railway station to New Delhi had been taken. However, the railway administration would conduct this survey in view of the protests by some locals.
“The railway administration will take the final decision to run Shiv Ganga Express from Maduadeeh after conducting an opinion survey,” he said.
He further said a proposal to start a train from Maduadeeh to Chennai and ensuring running of Godan Express from Azamgarh to Mumbai daily had been forwarded to the Railway Board.
Godan Express runs thrice a week from Azamgarh to Mumbai. Shiv Ganga Express is scheduled to start from Maduadeeh from March 17.
Veej said the NER was planning to introduce new trains to connect eastern Uttar Pradesh with Buddhist holy sites in Bihar. Prominent pilgrim sites to be connected under this plan include Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kapilavastu, Lumbini (Nepal) and Bodhgaya (Bihar), he said.
He further said this plan would be introduced with the help of the Department of Tourism and private agencies.
Veej added that the load of trains had increased on the railway lines passing from Delhi-Lucknow-Gorakhpur-Chapra and Howrah and Guwahati. In order to overcome the load of trains in this sector, the NER sent a proposal to the Railway Board for doubling of the railway sector of NER from Lucknow-Gorakhpur-Chapra, he said.
‘Besides, a proposal for doubling the railway tracks from Varanasi to Audihar has also been sent to the Railway Board,” he said, adding that the speed of trains would be increased after the doubling work was over. He hoped that a budget would be allocated for this purpose. Prior to the Press conference, the GM chaired a meeting with the MPs to discuss measures to enhance passenger facilities in the NER zone.
