: The rail budget has evoked mixed response among the various passenger associations.
From reactions that varied from ‘ambitious’ to ‘poor fund allocation’, the representatives of the passengers associations exuded hope that the Centre would rectify the shortcomings soon.
Explaining that the idea of stepping up infrastructure was welcome,
Paul Manvettom, president of the All Kerala Railway Users’ Association, said that the budget has not included the long-pending request to increase the frequency of MEMU services between Ernakulam and Kollam via Kottayam and Alappuzha, between Ernakulam and Palakkad and Ernakulam and Shornur, both via Thrissur, and Kollam and Nagercoil from six days to daily. Terming the Rs. 30 crore allocation for the doubling work of Ernakulam-Kumbalam stretch as inadequate, Mr. Manvettom urged the Centre to speed up the doubling works of the 101 km Ernakulam-Alappuzha- Kayamkulam stretch, of which only 13 km had been doubled so far. The allocation for doubling of tracks along the Kurupunthura-Chengannur stretch should also be increased considerably, he said.
T. Pradeep Kumar, general secretary of the Coastal Railway Passengers Council, welcomed the government’s decision to earmark Rs. 2,000 crore under the Coastal Connectivity Programme. P. Krishnakumar, general secretary of Thrissur Railway Passengers Association, said that the only gain for Thrissur was the Rs. one crore allocation for Guruvayur-Thirunavaya railway line.
