Sadananda Gowda wants ‘Metro man’ in his team

Bengaluru: After bagging a plum portfolio in the Modi ministry, Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda is thinking big.

At a press conference here on Sunday, he said he would constitute an expert team to guide him on the functioning of the Railways and wanted 'Metro Man' E. Sreedharan to be part of it.

“After consulting the Prime Minister, I will have a team of experts,” Mr Gowda told reporters here. "Mr Sreedharan's name is the first, I haven't spoken to him yet. Tomorrow I will talk to him and seek his assistance to take the Railways to a new high. We must work towards accident-free railway commuting and also concentrate on increasing the speed of trains,” he said.

Speaking on pending railway projects in Karnataka, he said: “State MLAs met me this morning on this issue. Some projects are delayed for several years. Unless something concrete is happening with them, there is no point making an announcement.”

Mr Gowda also disclosed that the commuter railway or “Namma Railu” of Bengaluru, is on his priority list. During his meeting with city MLAs, he said the project will be taken up in the upcoming budget along with modernisation of railway stations in Bengaluru city.

On the issue of fare hike, he said, "I need at least 15 days’ time. I feel people are prepared to pay if they are provided good service." The Minister blamed his predecessor Mallikarjun Kharge for burdening him by announcing an increase of 10 per cent  in railway tariff and 5 per cent hike on freight and not implementing them.