Ex - Railway Minister has said that hurdles in the way of implementing Talaguppa-Honnavara and Hubli-Ankola railway line projects would be cleared shortly.
“As railway tracks for both the projects pass through forestland, it is necessary to get the approval of the Ministry of Environment and Forest. A petition has been filed by a few environmentalists against the Hubli-Ankola project. I have already discussed the issue with Union Minister for Environment and Forest Prakash Javadekar,” he told presspersons here on Sunday.
Railway Minister said that he had directed the Railway officials to conduct...
more... a detailed study of the hurdles. Another meeting with Mr. Javadekar would be held shortly to get clearances for the projects. The possibilities of implementing the projects by causing minimum harm to environment are being considered. The hurdles will be cleared in a year, he said.
As part of its objective to ensure safe operation of trains, the Railways has decided to eliminate unmanned level crossings (ULCs) in phases. At present, more than 11,500 level-crossings in the country are unmanned. It is necessary to construct under-bridge or over-bridge across these level crossing to avoid the mishaps. The 2014-15 budget had earmarked Rs. 1,1785 crore for construction of over-bridges and under-bridges. The Railways would reserve an additional amount in the coming budget for the same, he said.
Railway Minister said it was necessary to strengthen and expand the railway network to fuel economic growth. With this objective, it has been planned to develop a ‘Diamond Quadrilateral’ of high-speed trains that will link metropolitan centres across the country. The project would be modelled on the ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ project launched when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. Both Japan and China have successfully implemented such rail projects. The Indian Railways would avail themselves of technical expertise from these nations, Railway Minister said.
Rajya Sabha member Ayanur Manjunath and MLC M.B. Bhanuprakash were present.