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New Delhi, Nov 12: Indian Railways will construct new rail lines in Orissa to ensure better connectivity, the Railway Board members said in New Delhi Friday.
“We have targeting commissioning of 235 km long rail lines in Orissa to boost railway connectivity,” Railway Board Chairman AK Mittal said.
Addressing a press conference, the chairman informed that the funds for East Coast Railway has increased in the last few years to pave way for better development of railways in the state. “Compared to last three years, funds for ECoR have almost doubled,” he said.
When asked why ECoR is not receiving investments despite good annual returns, Mittal said, “There is no correlation between investments and returns from any particular zone. We have to develop railways in the entire country despite the returns from different zones.”
He said that in the days to come, the railways will make dedicated freight lines as goods trains usually runs at an average speed of 25 km per hour against the average speed of express trains which is 50 km per hour. However, he said dedicated freight lines will be functional only by 2019, as it
involves a lot of work and
investment.
Mittal also said that in the next four-five years, all unmanned railway crossings will be manned to ensure safety along the tracks and avert chances of mishaps. He also emphasised all trains will soon have bio toilets to ensure better sanitation.
