Strengthening rail connectivity in the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) by developing a coastal rail corridor between Kakinada and Visakhapatnam was among the slew of announcements made by Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi with respect to Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, even as political parties continued to protest against the alleged step-motherly treatment to AP projects.
The coastal rail corridor assumes significance in the wake of several big-ticket investments in refinery projects, including the one by the GMR group, proposed in this region. Also, there is an increased pressure on moving cargo from Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Gangavaram ports to the hinterlands as the inbound and outbound sea cargo has grown manifold in the last few years.
5 rail line projects
The minister announced five new rail line projects, including four with the participation of the state government, apart from announcing 12 new express trains and one passenger train that will start from half-a-dozen locations including Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Kakinada.
The long wait for the proposed extension of the existing multi-modal transport system (MMTS) in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad also ended with the announcement of the second phase of the project in the 2012-13 Budget. While the current system covers 40 stations with over 80 services used by over 100,000 commuters every day, the authorities propose to extend the services in three directions, up to Patancheru, international airport in Shamshabad and the sub-urban Bhongir town.
Though the minister announced several new coach and wagon factories for 2012-13, the proposed coach factory at Kazipet in the Telangana region did not figure this time as well. Incidentally, Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa yesterday clarified that the project was not going to be taken up owing to land issues.
Hailing the Budget for setting a direction in terms of improving productivity and safety logistics, Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) president VS Raju, however, said the recent hike in freight tariff would trigger inflationary trend in the economy. The proposals to introduce railway station development corporation, logistics corporation and other projects in public-private partnership mode were welcome moves, he added.
Telugu Desam Party MP MV Mysoora Reddy said despite the South Central Railway division, headquartered in Secunderabad, being the largest contributor in terms of revenues to the Indian Railways, only a fraction of that was coming back to the region towards development of railway infrastructure.