Mamata proposes autonomy for Mumbai rail

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has a plan to improve the efficiency of the city’s suburban trains, used by 7 million commuters every day, reports Rajendra Aklekar.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has a plan to improve the efficiency of the city’s suburban trains, used by 7 million commuters every day.

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Banerjee has proposed to delink the Mumbai suburban rail network from the Indian Railways administratively. Officials said the separate body Banerjee wants to put in place would remove the main obstacles in improvement — delayed decisions and execution.

The city’s rail network has seen a series of disruptions since October, throwing the timetable out of gear.

Currently, the Western and Central Railways, which run 183 trains daily, have to wait for all decisions to come from Delhi.

A railway official explained: “I know a particular station needs a foot over bridge. I have to send a plan to Delhi and wait. Money will be allocated in the next budget. All this will take six months.”

Banerjee tabled the White Paper in Parliament last week, proposing the segregation of suburban railways in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai through a separate administrative unit.

“Mamataji is going in the right direction. A separate unit for suburban railways would mean quick planning and implementation of projects,” the official said.