Shifting of Western Railway Hqs to Ahmedabad not feasible: Govt.

New Delhi, Dec 1 (UNI) The government today said the demand of the Gujarat government to shift the headquarters of the Western Railway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad had not been accepted.

''The location of the headquarters of a Railway is decided on the basis of operational and administrative requirements consistent with the needs of economy and efficiency and not or regional considerations,'' Minister of State for Railways R Velu told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

Mr Velu said Gujarat had been demanding since long shifting of the Western Railway Hqs from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, but it had not been accepted.

Mr Velu pointed out that Gujarat was having a considerable share in passenger and goods traffic in the Western Railway.

''In view of these factors, there is no need for shifting the headquarters of Western Railway to Ahmedabad,'' he said.

Replying to another query, he said the Pune Municipal Corporation and the governments of Kerala, Goa and Andhra Pradesh had shown interest in the Sky Bus Project of the Konkan Railway Corporation.

UNI SKS MIR DS1402