Work on western freight corridor to start soon: Rathwa

Vadodara, Mar 19 (UNI) Minister of State for Railways Naran Rathwa today said his ministry was fully geared up to start the ground work for its most ambitious Rs 1,100 crore western freight corridor project, which once completed could considerably reduce the traffic congestion.

Referring to the announcement of the project by Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in his recent budget speech, Mr Rathwa said the railways had planned to have six such freight corridors across the country to ensure faster movement of goods traffic.

The 1,400 km long western freight corridor, the first project to be taken up by the Railway Ministry, would cover five states--Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh-- over a period of seven years.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Rathwa said after the completion of the project, speedy transportation of goods will benefit the industries and generate more revenue, besides reducing the traffic congestion on the existing lines by 50 per cent, enabling the ministry to introduce a number of new trains.

The minister said the Planning Commission had approved the proposed 180 km long Chhotaudepur-Dhar railway line to be constructed at a cost of Rs 660 crore. It had also approved the gauge conversion of the 100 km long Ankleswar-Rajpipla track. The budgetary allocations for the two projects would be made when the department would place its supplementary budget in July, he said.

Mr Rathwa, who earlier inaugurated Gujarat's first Unreserved Ticket System (UTS) at the Vadodara railway station, said the new system would be extended soon to other important stations like Anand, Nadiad, Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Godhra in the state.

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