RailEnquiry

BHOPAL: The chances of extending Bhopal-New Delhi Shatabdi Express train to Habibganj railway station despite the trial run is very bleak said chairman, railway board, Arunendra Kumar. He was in Bhopal for inspection of Rail Coach Factory, Habibganj and Bhopal Railway stations on Saturday.Addressing a press conference, he said similarly passengers will have to further wait for the start of the Bhopal-Indore double decker train, he said. Kumar said, railways is still waiting for response from groups keen to establish the proposed medical college under PPP mode in the state capital. Railway Budget 2009-10 had proposed for establishing medical colleges in Bhopal and other places attached to existing railway hospitals through PPP mode to give higher education facilities to the wards of railway employees.However, till date the project has found no takers. "Railways is still interested but only when we find some interested partner can we take the project forward," Kumar told media.

Extending Shatabdi to Habibganj, the chairman said, may not be practical. "We have to ensure that the Shatabdi reach New Delhi by 10.40 pm. During the trial run we found that an additional time of 36 mins was taken because of which is a bit difficult to clear the proposal as other trains would have to be rescheduled besides taking permissions from two others zones," said Kumar.

Speaking about the inspection of the coach factory, he said, "The division has been asked that instead of one coach, a full train should be manufactured at the factory. Also introduction of bio-toilets in the trains should have a time limit."

While 5,000 bio-toilets were introduced by railways last year, 3,000 more are in the offing, he informed.

He also said that the newly introduced rail tariff authority (RTA) would conduct a review once a year of the revenue generated from fares. The railway is currently incurring losses to the tune of more than 25,000 crores every year which the authority would review.