Cochin chamber hails Railway budget

Welcoming the Railway Budget, Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry today said proposals such as e-catering and women safety were timely.
"We are happy that the emphasis of the budget is centred around cleanliness, safety, modernization of infrastructure and making the railways financially self-sustainable," a CCCI release said here.
The chamber, however, urged the railways to follow up on the infrastructure projects that were mentioned in the previous rail budgets which apparently failed to take off.
The chamber said both the the Central and state governments should ensure that the implementation of projects including Kanjikode Coach Factory for which Rs 514 crore has been sanctioned, does not get delayed like in the past.

Applauding the Railway's decision of not to increase the ticket fares, the chamber said proposals like introduction of e-catering services, conversion of 17,000 toilets to bio toilets, installation of water vending machines at stations, widening the time span for booking advance tickets, mobile application for ticketing and dedicated phone line for grievances related to women safety are all timely.
"Although there were no new trains announced, we appreciate the Government for including several steps to improve the amenities for passengers," it said.
The chamber said the initiative to set up waste to energy plants near railway stations will help railways to manage the 4,000MT of waste generated per day and will also address their energy requirements to a large extent.

"This a very welcome development. The Projects envisaged for rail connectivity to ports and mines is also commendable," the chamber said.