Railways, AP to form jt ventures to expedite rail projects.

The Railway Ministry and the Andhra Pradesh Government have decided to form joint ventures to expedite rail projects and consider rail connectivity to Amaravati.

With various railway works now underway entailing an outlay of Rs. 23,000 crore in progress on rail routes linked to AP, it was felt that joint ventures would help expedite projects.

During a meeting of Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, in Vijayawada on Saturday, various Railway projects to be taken up in Andhra Pradesh were discussed along with arrangements for the ensuing Krishna Pushkarams.

Apart from formation of joint ventures with the AP government to expedite railway projects in the State, it was decided to review the progress of projects once every two months, according to a statement from the Railways.

The Chief Minister and the Railways Minister announced that 21 railway stations in the state would developed to airport standards. They said plans are afoot to connect railway stations with ports and the survey for rail connectivity to Amaravati was progressing at a fast pace.

Prabhu assured a time-bound action plan for completion of all ongoing projects including the third line project between Vijayawada-Gudur, electrification of the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam-Narsapur line and doubling of the Guntur-Guntakal line.

The Railways was planning to introduce special trains to boost tourism opportunities in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from these, Prabhu mentioned a proposal to set up rail-related workshop projects in AP.

He assured that the required number of trains would be run to meet the demand during the Krishna Pushkaram.

HBL