NEW DELHI, Feb 7 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi met Union Minister for Railways Dinesh Trivedi at Rail Bhawan here today and urged him to incorporate a slew of proposals in the forthcoming Railway Budget 2012-13, an official release said.
Chief Minister Gogoi while stressing the need for 'good connectivity from Assam, so critical for the people of the State and also other North Eastern States' urged him to declare the North east Frontier Railway as a dedicated railway zone exclusively for the North Eastern States and announce the same in this year's Railway Budget.
Gogoi urged the Railway Minister to introduce a new daily express train (Duronto) between Guwahati and Chennai via Kolkata and between Guwahati and Mumbai to 'cut short the enormous time the existing trains take to travel to southern and western parts of the country'. The Chief Minister also requested introduction of a new super fast express train connecting Jorhat-Sivasagar-Moran-Dibrugarh as 'it will serve as a link between Dangri and Furkating'.
Gogoi requested Trivedi for doubling of railway track from New Bongaigaon to Kamakhya via Guwahati, New Bongaigaon to Kamakhya via Rangia and Guwahati to Tinsukia via Lumding as well as electrification from Katihar to Guwahati.
The Chief Minister urged the Railway Minister for new railway lines connecting Salona to Kumtai and Jorhat to Sivasagar. "I told Trivedi that if a new line is laid between these two sections, the distance between Guwahati and Upper Assam will be considerably reduced," he said. Gogoi also urged Trivedi for a new railway line linking Tirap to Lekhapani at a distance of only 6 km, as 'it will help in transportation of coal to Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station'.
Gogoi requested Trivedi to initiate steps to set up the wagon manufacturing facility at Amingaon announced in the Railway Budget 2010, besides upgradation and modernisation of coach workshops at Bongaigaon and Dibrugarh.
Other proposals taken up by the Chief Minister included modernisation and improvement of railway stations at Guwahati, Tinsukia, Jorhat and Bongaigaon, railway level crossing at important unmanned locations across the state and setting up of an integrated freight complex at Changsari.
Trivedi assured Gogoi that he would have a closer look into the proposals and for their inclusion in the forthcoming Railway Budget.
Gogoi also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, requesting him to consider the proposals submitted by the state and for their inclusion in the Railway Budget.
