Hyderabad: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu said on Monday that two time-bound greenfield terminals would be built at Cherlapalli and Nagulapalli on the city outskirts with the cooperation of the Telangana state government.
Speaking after inaugurating two trains here, Mr Prabhu said that the possibility of providing rail connectivity to Shamshabad international airport from Umdanagar through an underground rail network should be examined by holding discussions with the state government.
The rail line is stuck in dispute between various stake-holders. The matter has been discussed often between them but there has been no outcome. The feasibility study of this project would be assigned to Rail India Technical and Economic Services, a government infrastructure enterprise, he said. Mr Prabhu said that as the first step towards boosting the freight sector, two pairs of time-tabled container trains called Cargo Express had commenced their run. They had reached their destinations ahead of schedule; and he launched the third weekly service between Nagalapalli and Tugla-kabad, at Secunderabad railway station.
He also said that for first time in the history of rail budget this year, measures have been initiated to bring down cargo charges.
The minister also flagged off Train 11307 Gulbarga-Hyderabad daily intercity express and Train 11083 Mumbai LTT-Kazipet weekly Tadoba Express via a video remote link. Their trains will begin their scheduled runs later this week, officials said.
Mr Prabhu said the railways, the biggest user of energy in the country, was tapping renewable sources, illuminating stations through LED lighting and practicing prudent energy audit methods due to which railways has saved Rs 3,500 crore.
