State govts need to work with Railways for development: Suresh Prabhu

Howrah: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said that he wants state governments to join hands with the Railways for the development of stations.

"We want to have a joint venture with the states. I am requesting the state governments to join hands with the Railways in developing and re-developing the stations," Prabhu said here during programme at the Howrah station.

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The Union Minister inaugurated several projects for the Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway and the Metro Railway in Howrah.

Stating that West Bengal occupies a "strategic position" in the country, Prabhu said that the ministry would help "with its resources" for the development of the state.

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He also congratulated the Eastern Railway for becoming the first in the country to remove all unmanned level crossings in its zone. Prabhu also underscored the Railways would work towards improving the customer service and development of the infrastructure.

"Revamping will take a long time though we are are working on all aspects. We are focusing on the customer service... customer satisfaction is very very important. We have taken over 100 initiatives in the last 18 months. Though many are saying that things have improved a lot, I am not happy because we have to go a long long way," Prabhu said.