Railway budget did not meet expectations: Kerala minister

The railway budget presented by Mamata Banerjee did not rise to the expectations of Kerala, state law and parliamentary affairs minister M Vijayakumar said today.

Reacting to the budget, Vijayakumar, in charge of railway development in state, said many of the proposals announced last year had not yet been implemented and the state was worried about the fate of the new schemes announced.

The budget had not set apart any funds for the proposed coach factory at Palakkad. Kerala was also not covered under the dedicated freight corridor. There was no proposal for new trains to Bangalore. The benefits of Konkan railway could not be utilised by the state due to lack of services, he said.

Vijayakumar also said there was no mention in the budget of the long-pending demand for a separate railway zone in the
state. Funds had not been set apart for developing three railway stations to international standards as promised.

CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, in a statement, said there was no concrete proposal in the budget for railway development in Kerala. The Centre had adopted a "negative" approach to railway development in the state by ignoring the key demands put forward by MPs from the state, he charged.

Opposition Congress leader Oommen Chandy said the railway budget had "shown justice" to many of the demands of Kerala.
Nine new trains, proposals for new train routes and sanction for coach factory in Palakkad were the state's major achievements.

He wanted the Centre to take steps for meeting the state's demand for a railway zone.