 "Suresh Prabhu")
The Centre is mulling linking neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal through the railways.
This was announced here on Friday by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu at a programme where an agreement was signed between the Indian Railways and UNESCO.
"We have neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. We have a very cordial relationship with them. We want to increase railway connectivity with these countries. We are trying to develop it," Prabhu told reporters.
"If a circuit can be made connecting these neighbouring countries, it will increase interaction, tourism, trade, employment and connectivity," he added.
Prabhu said work was on to connect all the eight state capitals of the north-east, so that the tourism potential of the region gets a boost.
Horticulture, floriculture, handicraft of the region would get a bigger market after the state capitals are connected with the rest of the country, the railway minister said, adding that he would visit Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the next two days.
Prabhu said investments of Rs 3-3.5 lakh crore would be made in the railways while the amount had been Rs 35,000-40,000 crore a year earlier. This will bring development in the functioning of the railways, he added.
On the railways going digital, Prabhu said an app has been
launched about five-six days ago for which no smartphone was needed. The app could be used for reservation and cancellation of train tickets.
One can reserve a ticket even after the chart has been prepared, he said, adding that the TTEs at some places have been given an equipment to handle such cases.
"This way, corruption will end and the income of the railways will grow," the railway minister said.
For any emergency like medical ones, arrangements have been made to look into the matter within 15-16 minutes of lodging a complaint via Twitter or Facebook, he said.
Prabhu said, arrangements have been made to clean a coach within 15 minutes of a complaint being lodged, "but we need people's cooperation in this regard. Passengers should not litter (stations and trains) and think that it is the responsibility of the railways to clean the mess".
Efforts were on to quicken these services, he said. To a question, the minister said accidents had reduced "substantially".
"You (media) reported that two recent accidents were due to sabotage. So, they cannot be called normal accidents. We are taking a huge step towards safety. We are running a campaign throughout the country to go into each and every aspect of safety which is priority number one and non-negotiable," he said.
A trust agreement was signed between the Ministry of Railways and UNESCO in the presence of Prabhu to develop the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan for Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
The railway minister thanked Union minister and local MP SS Ahluwalia and Gorkha Territorial Administration Chief Executive Bimal Gurung for this, adding that the agreement would help conserve the heritage.
As per the plan, Prabhu said, the IRCTC portal would be promoted in the tourism circuit to exploit the tourism potential of Darjeeling and neighbouring areas.
The skills of the locals would be developed with the help of the Ministry of Skill Development, so that the local artisans and tribals get a bigger market, he added.
Prabhu also flagged off the Howrah-Yesvantpur Humsafar Express from Howrah station via remote control from Darjeeling.
He dedicated various other projects of the Eastern and the South Eastern Railway to the people.
