A parliamentary sub-committee, which also comprises a few experts, is still studying the feasibility of establishing a separate railway zone for Andhra Pradesh with Visakhapatnam as headquarters, and its final recommendations are not ready, according to Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain.
“No concrete decision can be taken until the Railway Ministry gets a positive feasibility report from the committee,” Mr. Gohain told the media here on Thursday.
He was responding to a query on the need to fulfil the promise made on the railway zone post bifurcation. Earlier, dedicating the swanky railway station building at Guntakal, doubling of railway line, and electrification of the Nallapadu-Guntakal section to the nation, Mr. Gohain said Rayalaseema had been receiving excellent support from the Ministry as evident from the ₹6,300-crore worth projects in progress in the region.
Connectivity to capital
Addressing the passengers at the new station building, Mr. Gohain said connectivity from the Rayalaseema region to the State capital was being increased through introduction of a tri-weekly express from Dharmavaram to Vijayawada, extension of the Machilipatnam - Tirupati Express up to Dharmavaram, and running of special trains from Kurnool and Raichur to Kakinada via Guntur and Vijayawada.
Countering the claims of the TDP, he said, during 2018-19, the budgetary allocation for various developmental activities in the State was ₹3,670 crore compared to ₹1,105 crore during 2014-15. In the Rayalaseema region alone, 145 km of new railway lines, 23 km of doubling and 653 km of electrification had been completed with an investment of ₹1,900 crore, he said.
MLR factory
The Minister said that work on setting up the Mid Life Rehabilitation (MLR) factory in Kurnool at a cost of ₹300 crore was progress.
On completion, it is expected to generate direct and indirect employment in the region. Work on upgrading stations at Guntakal, Tirupati and Kurnool city were taken up at a cost of ₹500 crore, he said.
“The launch of the electrified Guntakal-Kalluru section (41 km) will provide seamless connectivity, linking Bengaluru with Hyderabad, and Mumbai with north India,” Mr. Gohain observed.