Only two MPs attend pre-Railway budget meet

While the railway passengers expect that the MPs would bring the stark neglect of Vijayawada division to the notice of Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee through the South Central Railway General Manager (SCR GM), only two MPs attended the meet as against 18 invited from Vijayawada and Guntur regions. 

SCR GM M S Jayant on Wednesday conducted a meeting with the MPs to elicit their views and the requirements of the division. Only Machilipatnam MP Kanagalla Narayana Rao and Rajahmundry MP Vunadavalli Arun Kumar attended the meet, which speaks volumes about the sincerity of our MPs in getting new railway lines and projects to the region. Even the timing of meeting, the Rail budget is only a week away,  looked as if it was an eyewash. 

Several demands for the new rail lines and doubling works have been pending since decades. The demand for a direct train from Vijayawada to Mumbai has been gathering dust for several years in spite of many memoranda from the Railway Users Association and members of traders associations. 

Former Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav's assurance to launch Machilipatnam-Mumbai train is yet to fructify. The demand for additional coaches in Seshadri Express is also pending. The passengers demand 24 coaches as against the existing 20 as there is a heavy rush of passengers travelling to Bangalore.