GUNTUR: Modernisation of Guntur railway to start soon. Escalators in all platforms and amenities would be developed for the commuters. Guntur MP Galla Jayadev, Guntur East MLA Md Mustafa, West MLA M. Venugopala Reddy and others inspected the Guntur railway station on Friday night. Mr Jayadev conducted a meeting with the railway officials and sought development of Guntur railway station according to the increased needs after announcement of the new capital Amaravati.
Guntur DRM A. Vijay Sharma informed that new foot-over-bridge is going to be constructed connecting all the platforms from 1 to 7 and Platform 7 would to be extended for the stopping of 24-coach trains. He said that roof sheds will be constructed on all platforms to give protection to train commuters from rain and sun by the end of this year. He said that escalator would be installed on 1 and 7 platforms.
Mentioning about submission of requisition to union minister for railways Suresh Prabhu about ROB at Sankar Vilas, Mr Jayadev said that CM N. Chandrababu Naidu sought the DRM to come to Delhi to meet the railway minister and pursue the matter to get the permission. He explained that Guntur Municipal Corporation is going to pay Rs 2.80 crore to the Railways for constructing pipelines from beneath the railway track for World Bank aided comprehensive drinking water scheme and asked the DRM to expedite the work by releasing tenders. Mr Jaydev complained about slow pace of ROB works at Nandivelugu near Manasa Sarovar and sought measures to speed up the works.
Mr Jayadev asked to expedite the Guntur-Tenali doubling and electrification and to lessen the train journey time between Vijayawada and Guntur railway stations. He suggested developing new railway stations including in the capital Amaravati in Private-Public-Partnership mode. The GMC officials stated that the locals are reluctant to give their land to construct ROB/RUB at Syamalanagar and Sanjeevaiahnagar. Mr Jayadev suggested collecting of the lands under Land Acquisition Act. DRM Mr Sharma said that issue of reducing the time between Vijayawada-Guntur would be resolved.
