While inaugurating several railway projects and train services at Sealdah station, the Union minister announced that there is a Rs 60,000-crore investment opportunity by the railways in the state and highlighted that 61 projects are currently pending due to issues related to the handover of land to the railways.
“West Bengal has Rupees 60 thousand crore investment opportunity,” Vaishnaw said, adding, “Development is the need of the hour. There should not be any politics surrounding railway projects. If the state government supports us, these 61 pending projects can be expedited for the sake of the people.”
Vaishnaw mentioned that there are 26kms of Metro railway projects where work cannot proceed due to land-related issues. He, further, highlighted development milestones achieved under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly noting the expansion of the Metro network in Kolkata, which increased from 28 km in 2014 to 38 km.
Additionally, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya appealed to the Union Rail minister to name Sealdah station in the name of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
“During partition, lakhs of people crossed borders and came to Bengal, here at the Sealdah station. Mukherjee that time camped here and helped people. So we want this station to be named after him,” Bhattacharya said.
However, Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said, “If they honestly want to name Sealdah station, they should name it Swami Vivekananda. Swamiji came from the USA and reached here in Sealdah. People of Kolkata received him from Sealdah station and organised a march with him.”
Later, Vaishnaw also participated in a Swachhata Abhiyan programme in Kolkata and visited the Gandhi Bhawan in Beleghata.
During his visit to the Braithwaite & Co. Ltd. plant in Kolkata, a public sector undertaking engaged in the manufacture of railway wagons and other products, Vaishnaw highlighted that the company has systematically revived itself in the last 10 years. “Braithwaite is a very famous company that has suffered losses for a very long time. Over the past 10 years, the company has revived systematically. New technologies and manufacturing capabilities were introduced and developed, which is a good example of the revival of a PSU company,” he said.
“Last year, the company’s revenue was Rs 1,100 crore, and this year the revenue will be Rs 1,400 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has revived the company very well, and today I have come here for the inspection of the plant and to plan the Swachhata initiative here,” he further added.
Addressing concerns about railway accidents, he said that rail accidents have decreased and that the Railway Ministry conducts thorough investigations into the causes of every accident to address systemic and structural issues.
“Ten years ago, there were 171 accidents annually, but that number was reduced to 40 last year—a more than 60 per cent reduction. Derailments, which averaged 450-500 annually under the UPA government, have now decreased to around 80. As we keep on improving the training practices of our employees and work on technology, things are improving..,” he said.
— With PTI inputs
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