"Weak Finances May Result In Railway Fare Hike"

Minister of State for Railways Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy on Saturday hinted at hike in the railway fares.

Speaking before flagging off the express Train between Secunderabad and Tirupati at Secunderabad Railway Station here, the union minister said that the financial condition of railways was weak. Without directly using the phrase "increase in fares", he appealed to people to cooperate with the railways. However, he maintained that the Railways happen to be the cheapest mode of transport meeting the public needs. He also acknowledged the state government's cooperation in sharing costs of railway projects in the state.

Surya Prakash Reddy also admitted that injustice was done to the railway projects in the state. However, he assured that steps would be taken to prioritise and hasten the completion of said projects. The modernisation of railway stations and the construction of roads over bridges would be completed soon, he assured. He also assured that all steps would be taken to optimize safety standards.

The union minister informed that the MMTS Phase-II in Hyderabad would be taken up in due course. He also informed that the Kakinada-Secunderabad AC express would be introduced on Sunday followed by the introduction of Visakhapatnam-Shirdi, Visakhapatnam-Tirupati, and Karimnagar-Tirupati expresses.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy complimented the South Central Railway for introducing a train on the route of the earlier meter gauge on which Venkatadri express used to be run. The new train will immensely benefit the people of Mahabubnagar, Anantapur and Chittoor districts, he added.

Kiran Kumar Reddy also asked the union minister to take steps for the beginning the works on the railway wagon shed at Qazipet which was announced in last year's railway budget. He also demanded the establishment of a railway-coach manufacturing factory in the Rayalaseema region. He also suggested that the frequency of Secunderabad-Tirupati express should be increased from bi-weekly to daily while naming the train before Lord Venkateswara.

He also assured total cooperation from the Andhra Pradesh government for cost-sharing of railway projects in the state.

Major Industries Minister Dr J Geetha Reddy demanded the doubling of Bidar-Hyderabad track, and the introduction of Bidar-Zaheerabad-Tirupati link train.

Earlier, SCR General Manager G N Asthana said that all the 16 trains announced in the railway budget this year on SCR would be introduced during the current financial year. The preliminary work survey for MMTS Phase-II will be completed by the month end and the tender process for the works will commence in January next year. On the performance front, the General Manager expressed confidence that SCR would achieve 110 Million Tonnes of freight loading during the current financial year.

Later, Surya Prakash Reddy and Kiran Kumar Reddy flagged off the newly introduced Train No. 12770 / 12769 Secunderabad-Tirupati-Secunderabad bi-weekly express. This train will run via Kacheguda, Kurnool Town, Dhone, Gooty, Dharmavaram, Piler and Pakala.

Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, Ministrs - M Mukesh Goud and Danam Nagender, MLA Jayasudha Kapoor, MLC KR Amos, Deputy Mayor G Rajkumar and other dignitaries were present. (INN)