Railway budget likely to disappoint Jharkhand

BOKARO: The railway budget 2012 could disappoint the peopel of Jharkhand as there may not be any new trains and amenities. This was indicated by general manager, South Eastern Railway, A K Verma, during his visit to Bokaro on Thursday.
Talking to newsmen at the Bokaro railway station, he said the board is facing a funds crunch and has decided not to sanction too many proposals.“At a railway board meeting held recently, the members discussed the constraints. The Indian Railways is facing a funds crunch for which many projects may not be sanctioned,” he said.
Not elaborating further, he said Jharkhand is supposed to get two projects this budget. Verma said Bokaro is one of the highest revenue generating stations of the division. “The growing production capacity of Bokaro Steel Ltd demands matching infrastructure of the railways. By 2020, BSL aims to achieve a production target of 20 MT steel for which we have to develop our railway infrastructure,” he said.
Verma also said the railways will lay the foundation stone of a coach factory in Anara under Adra Division of SER soon. The project at a budget of Rs 140 crore would be one of the three such factories in the country. It will be completed in three years. The factory will rehabilitate 250 coaches in 365 days. Each coach has a life of 25 years but requires repair between 12-14 years.