Title - RAIL REFORMS IN RAEBARELI

Railway facilities and services in Raebareli and surrounding areas are on the threshold of transformation under the leadership of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. A number of rail projects have been initiated which includes the laying of the foundation stones of coaching complex at Raebareli Railway station and an underpass near Idgah at the station, while certain other facilities already completed have been pressed into service, ie the inauguration of the executive lounge at Raebareli Station, a computerised reservation ticketing system at Dalmau, separate counters for reserved/unreserved tickets at Lalganj, and the re-opening of Surajkund Halt. The 636 km Moradabad-Mughalsarai electrified railway line has been completed. On the occasion, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, GM of Northern Railway Vijay Kumar Gupta and other senior railway officials were also present. Railways have taken up the construction work of Raebareli-Akbarganj-Faizabad new line (116 km), Unchahar-Amethi-Sultanpur-Kadipur new line (134 km), doubling of the Utaratia-Raebareli (66 km) and Raebareli-Amethi (60km) in this area, while electrification from Mughalsarai-Lucknow (288 km) has already been commissioned and work is in progress for electrification of 200 km Varanasi-Unchahar railway line. Computerised Reservation Ticketing System, which was a long standing requirement of people of Dalmau has been made operational with the inauguration of the new centre in the town today. This will facilitate people to get reservation from anywhere to anywhere on the Indian Railway System from their own town.

Surajkund, a station between Dariyapur-Dalmau stations, which had been closed in the past, has been reopened as a halt station on the demand of the public. Three pairs of passenger trains will now stop here to connect this area to the rest of the nation by the railways. Provision of enhanced level of amenities for passengers has been a major aim of Ministry of Railways. In this direction, whereas waiting rooms are available at Raebareli, an air-conditioned lounge is being provided at the station. Also, a ‘Rail Neer’ plant is being established in Amethi.

There was a level crossing on the west end of Raebareli station which was closed as a Road Over Bridge (ROB) had been constructed here. It was found that due to this, the people of this area have been facing difficulties for offering prayers at the Idgah situated on the other side of the track. A subway will now be provided here for their movement across the track. This subway shall be completed in 6 months. In order to provide convenient and safe passage across railway tracks at Barara Buzurg and Akona, Northern Railway has sanctioned the provision of a subway under the railway track at its own cost. These subways will be provided by the state of the art technology and will be designed with suitable drainage system, proper lighting and adequate visibility for road users.

Existing facilities at the Raebareli station are being substantially upgraded under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and a new coaching complex has been planned at this station. In this project, a new 26 coach length washing line will be constructed, along with extension of existing half length washing line to 26 coach length, while a sick line has also been sanctioned.

A new overhead tank of 2,25,000 l is also planned adjacent to proposed washing lines to facilitate easy and effective cleaning of rakes.

At present, the existing half length washing line pit is being used to give primary maintenance to 3 rakes per day ie one express train and two passenger trains. With commissioning of new coaching complex, it will be possible to maintain 6 full length, 26 coach rakes at Raebareli. This will enable introduction of new trains from various parts of the country to Raebareli in various directions.

As a measure to enhance the mobility of the people of this area, Northern Railway has planned to introduce number of trains. In this regard, a new train no. 14219/14220 Lucknow-Varanasi will be started soon. In addition, for the people of Raghu Raj Singh station, Jalalpur Dhai and Bighapur, Railways have decided to provide additional stoppages to Unchahar Express at these stations.

Northern Railway has made sustainable efforts to provide all possible facilities and amenities to its passengers ie operation of new trains, additional stoppages to the trains passing through this station, waiting halls, drinking water on platforms and trains, public conveniences, lights/fans on platform, reservation counters etc.