The Railway Budget presented by Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday could not bring cheer to passengers in central Kerala. All that the region got were two new trains and another one being converted to a “daily”.
The Kochuveli - Yeshwantpur AC express and Ernakulam - Thrissur Memu trains are the only new ones that will benefit central Kerala.
Among these, the former will run only once a week. Bangalore - Kochuveli express, which used to run only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, will now run on a daily basis.
However, the budget did not mentioned when the new trains would hit the tracks. The Ernakulam - Kollam Memu train is still only on paper and chances are that the newly announced trains will be delayed too.
Passengers from central Kerala were also disappointed with Mr Trivedi’s lack of consideration for the Kerala - Kasargod high speed corridor.
The project, expected to be a blessing for the people here, was only mentioned passingly by the minister without any concrete decisions.
Mr Trivedi has also promised a coach terminal at Kottayam and the completion of the Angamaly - Kalady railway line by 2012-13.
The minister also stated that the Cherthala wagon factory would be implemented with private participation.
The Budget has focused on the core limitation of railway network in Kottayam by allocating funds for doubling works.
It has provided funds for the doubling works on the Mulanthuruthy-Kuruppanthara stretch and the Kuruppanthara-Chingavanam stretch.
The work on road over-bridges at Kumaranallore, Moolavattom and Thellakom also found mention in the Budget.