Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that 34 railway stations in the State would soon be upgraded to world class standards.
Talking to media persons after inspecting the facilities at the Thiruvananthapuram Nemom railway station, he said the railway stations and terminals in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram would be upgraded once the construction of the tracks at stations including Nemom was completed. He also stated that Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station, Nemom, Pettah and Kochuveli stations were being designed to reflect the heritage of Kerala.
In reply to a query, Mr.Vaishnaw said a decision would be taken on the Silver Line project only after resolving the environmental and technical hurdles and after consultation with the State government.
He said the Vande Bharat Metro to operate shorter distances would soon become a reality. The design and construction of the Metro format of the Vande Bharat was in progress, he added.
Railway Board Chairman Anilkumar Lohoti, General Manager. R. N. Singh, Thiruvananthapuram Dvisional Railway Manager Sachin Sharma and other officials were present on the occasion.
The Minister reviewed the master plans for redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram Central, Varkala- Sivagiri and Kozhikode railway stations and took stock of various rail doubling and new line and sectional speed increase projects in Kerala.
Later, he visited Kochuveli station and inspected ‘One Station One Product’ outlet and the catering unit at the station. He had a discussion with Kazhakuttam MLA Kadakampally Surendran. He reviewed the construction of pitlines, stabling lines, platform extension works and augmentation of coaching facilities at Nemom and Kochuveli as part of the measures to decongest Thiruvananthapuram Central.
