Trivedi moots standard colour code for stations

KOLKATA: Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi made it clear on Wednesay that a lot needs to be done to develop facilities and infrastructure in the railways. While on an inspection tour of suburban stations between Titagarh and Kanchrapara, Trivedi suggested that the railways should follow a standard colour code and this need not be green.
"The railways minister was not too happy with what he saw at these stations.He pointed out that the area near the entrance to the Barrackpore station needs to be developed by keeping its original facade intact. The passenger concourse area at these stations needs to be better maintained and cleaned up, Trivedi said. The halt station at Palta will also be upgraded to a block one.
He also didn't seem too happy with the myriad colour schemes at the stations and sought a standard colour code for the railways. Trivedi didn't seem too keen when asked whether it should be green," an official said.
According to sources, the railways minister wasn't too happy with the murals at the various stations. In his opinion, they didn't quite go with the surroundings. This was Trivedi's first inspection of these stations that fall within his constituency, after he took over as railways minister. Unlike some of his predecessors, he preferred not to take the media along but interacted with locals and exchanged Id greetings.
Immediately after Mamata Banerjee took over as railways minister in 2009, the railways went into an overdrive and did away with most of the red-coloured buildings. While some of the structures were painted green, others were given a combination of shades. Green was predominant though. It was never known whether Mamata insisted on the colour green or it was an effort by officials to please her. When Mamata asked for beautification of the stations, several murals were made without actually considering whether the subjects had anything to do with the surroundings. According to an official, Trivedi also believes in setting up his own team of aides and has made it clear that he wants to run things on his own terms.