Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal (Express photo)
Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday accepted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s suggestion of developing a high-speed railway corridor parallel to the proposed Samruddhi Mahamarg between Nagpur and Mumbai.
He was speaking at a function here to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among state government, MahaMetro and Indian Railways for running Metro trains from Nagpur to Wardha, Bhandara, Saoner, Katol and Ramtek. Goyal also praised the idea of running Metro coaches to these destinations and said that the Indian railways will replicate the model in other parts of the country if the Nagpur model is successful.
The CM said in his speech that the state government had carried out a survey about feasibility of the train corridor and that such a corridor could facilitate quicker transport of goods and passengers across the state. In his speech earlier, Goyal said Fadnavis had spoken to him about this idea and that his ministry would take it up for implementation and would also try to check if it can be replicated along such major road corridors elsewhere in the country. The minister said that the proposed rail corridor will enable Nagpur-to-Mumbai journey within five hours.
The Metro service to nearby towns, a brainchild of Union Minister for Surface Transport, Shipping and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari, will see passengers travelling in air-conditioned Metro trains at a maximum one-way charge of Rs 60. These broad-gauge feeder Metro trains, to be started under mass rapid transit system project, will replace the existing passenger trains running to these places. Gadkari said that such trains will eliminate the need for people from these places to use their own vehicles or buses, which are costlier modes, and will also reduce pollution and accidents.
The Metro service will be run by MahaMetro which is currently constructing Nagpur and Pune metro railways.
The CM also announced that henceforth all municipal corporations will have projects like Bhandewadi in Nagpur where waste water is treated and supplied to the Koradi Thermal Power Station. “There will be no dumping of waste by the municipal corporations and it will have to be promptly treated,” the CM said. He added that water acquired from mines and power plants is being used to irrigate about 10,000 hectares of land in Maharashtra and an MoU has been signed between Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation and WCL in this regard. The event was also attended by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani and Secretary of Union Urban Development Ministry Durga Shankar Mishra.
The CM also laid the foundation stone for Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s waste-to-energy project on the occasion. Another foundation was laid for MAHAGENCO project to carry coal from the cluster of Western Coalfield Ltd mines to its power projects through pipe conveyer system.