PM asks rlys to put city on the elevated corridor, ultra fast

PM asks rlys to put city on the elevated corridor, ultra fast

Prime minister Manmohan Singh has set a deadline for infrastructure projects — the elevated rail corridor in Mumbai, setting up of locomotive factories on public-private partnerships and the rail tariff authority. After a review meeting on infrastructure held by Singh last week, the prime minister’s office on Thursday directed the railway ministry to sign an agreement with Maharashtra within 15 days for the elevated rail corridor. Also, the PMO has asked the ministry to finalise the important milestones and timelines for the project by December. The 62.268-km elevated corridor project will have 26 stations between Oval Maidan and Virar. The project will be implemented on a public-private partnership basis. As of now, the railways is conducting pre-bid consultations with bidders on various aspects of the project. Aimed at empowering the ministry to decide on passenger and freight tariffs, it has been decided that a cabinet note for setting up of the tariff authority will be moved by Jan 15, 2013. Passenger fares were revised almost a decade ago. Former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi tried to raise the fares but it upset his boss, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, and he had to quit the ministry. Nothing happened after that. The railway ministry has also been directed to put the bidding for locomotive factories on fast track. The factories will come up in Madhepura and Marhowra. Former railway minister Lalu Prasad had announced it in 2008. Since then various rounds of bidding for the projects have failed. The PMO now wants the ministry to call the final bids by the end of December and award both projects before next year’s railway budget.