KOCHI: The renovation work of the Harbour Terminus railway station would be completed before March next year, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu told reporters on Thursday. Since the renovation of the station was a very popular demand, instructions would be issued to railway officials to complete work this year itself if possible, he said after inaugurating a slew of railway projects at the Ernakulam south railway station.
The minister also said the historic old railway station in Ernakulam would be developed as a model station with the support of the state government. The development of the old station would be taking into account the bird sanctuary in the close vicinity of the station. It would be developed as one of the greenest stations in the country, he added. Mr. Prabhu also said discussions would be held with the state government on rehabilitating the families staying in railway property.
The minister also denied reports about a lobby based in Chennai sabotaging the railway development projects in the state. “There is no such lobby in the railways”, he said. The minister also refuted the allegations that the Railways had been showing discrimination against Kerala. The allocation of Kerala in the railway budget was increased by 217 per cent last year compared with the previous years, he said.
Mr. Prabhu said 400 railway stations in the country had been identified to be developed as signature entities of the cities in which these stations were located. The project would be implemented in public- private-partnership model with the support of public sector undertakings. He said the Railways had initiated the work of providing wi-fi services in railway stations and the facility had been introduced in Ernakulam south station.
The railway stations in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur and Kozhikode would be provided with wi-fi facility in the next phase. The minister formally dedicated the electrification of Cheruvathoor-Shornnur route besides inaugurating the new railway station at Nilambur Road station. The minister also inaugurated the emergency medical services centre, AC waiting room and new vegetarian café at Ernakulam south station. KV Thomas MP, MLAs Hibi Eden, PT Thomas and several others attended the function.
