New Delhi: Union Minister of State of Railways Shri Rajen Gohain laid the foundation stone for Rs.3618 crore Doubling with Electrification projects covering 349 kms in Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram section at a function held in Nagercoil Junction Railway station on 23rd of January, 2018. Besides laying the foundation stone for three infrastructural projects, Shri Rajen Gohain inaugurated/dedicated Escalator facility, Wi-Fi services and 100% LED lighting facilities at Nagercoil Junction Railway station.
Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Shri Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister for Information & Publicity, Government of Tamilnadu Shri Kadambur Raju, Member of Parliament Shri. A. Vijayakumar participated and graced the occasion.
Union Minister of State of Railways Shri Rajen Gohain, while addressing the gathering stated that Indian Railways is taking continued efforts to enhance facilities for passengers. He said that more customer-oriented facilities are being implemented. He lauded Southern Railways’ efforts to implement 100% LED at all stations and praised Southern Railways’ initiatives to eliminate Level Crossings thus ensuring safety of rail users. The minister added that the Outlay for Tamilnadu this fiscal year 2017-18 is Rs.2287 crores, which is an increase of about 160% over the financial years from 2009-10 to 2016-17 and the increase in the outlay for Passenger amenities from Rs.33 crore in the fiscal 2016-17 to Rs.38 crore in 2017-18. The minister, on a concluding note stated that he was delighted to visit Kanniyakumari which has seen the footprints of Swami Vivekananda.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Shri Pon Radhakrishnan, expressed his happiness about the sanction accorded by Central Government for the entire Kanniyakumari – Thiruvananthapuram Rs. 4000 crore Rail development project. He added that he is thankful to Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and Union Railway Minister in this regard. He said the joint efforts of the Centre and state Governments will bring revolutionary changes in Kanniyakumari Region.
General Manager, Southern Railway Shri R. K. Kulshrestha, welcomed the dignitaries and addressed the gathering. DRM, Trivandrum, Shri Prakash Bhutani, DRM, Madurai, Ms. Neenu Ittyerah, Principal Head of Departments, Officers and staff of Southern Railway participated in the function.
