City MPs to demand Independent identity for suburban network

Time to get the wish lists out and take stock of whether or not Pawan Kumar Bansal and his team are on the same wavelength as an ordinary Mumbaikar One desire that has been fruitlessly accommodated in their lists by both the cityrsquos aam aadmi and the pundit over the past few years is accordance of the status of a separate zone to the suburban train network Today members of parliament MPs representing Mumbai will put forth this demand ahead of the presentation of Railway Budget 201314 Lakhs of commuters use the suburban network of the railways PicPradeep Dhivar ldquoMumbai deserves to get more consideration from the rail ministry which earns onethird of its total revenues from the suburban system There is a need for a separate budget allocation for the cityrsquos local train networkrdquo said MP Sanjay Nirupam who has promised to raise this point Nirupam whose constituency is North Mumbai says he has already asked Western Railway WR to create model stations out of the ones at Borivli Dahisar Kandivli and Malad which are frequented by commuters and provide better amenities Lok Sabha member from South Central Mumbai Eknath Gaikwad too wants special attention for the city ldquoSeparate endowment from the railway budget to Mumbai is essential as the suburban network acts as lifeline for lakhs of people every day Also adequate facilities arenrsquot provided to them to rectify which money is requiredrdquo he said Several multicrore projects are being planned in Mumbai but railway authorities claim dearth of funds is forcing them to go slow Due to the economic slowdown and no hike in rail tariffs over the last few years the organisation has struggled to even pay private contractors carrying out maintenance and other essential works on the suburban section ldquoSpecific attention should be accorded to the train operations on suburban sections in both Western and Central Railways Primary services like clean water and toilets cannot be provided at many places because of financial crunchrdquo said Priya Dutt MP from Mumbai North Central Erstwhile union railway minister Ram Naik too feels that funding is a concern for a city like Mumbai when it comes to operating the suburban section ldquoIsolating the Mumbai local network is an old issue to deal with which a body like Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation MRVC exists However there is need for ample financial support which is yet to happen due to lack of political willrdquo he said Naik claims that several things were announced in the last rail budget without taking into account the financial provisions for the same Meanwhile railway experts feel that there are operational difficulties in separating Mumbai from rest of the train system ldquoIt is not feasible to separate the suburban system of Mumbai Rather we should create a policy for local networks that can tackle specific issues like passenger amenitiesrdquo said RN Verma former general manager WR Senior railway officials also claim that according independent status to the suburban section is nothing but tall talk as it only translates into altering the working of an existing system that has not created problems though it might be a bit tardy ldquoWe donrsquot know whether or not such a huge system will operate smoothly once isolated Instead the funding pattern could be changedrdquo said a senior railway official PC Sehgal former managing director MRVC said ldquoA policy should be prepared for suburban system that would enable its selfsustainable functioning Even the state government can look at providing subsidies and resources for suburban operationsrdquo Experts feel that the best way to reduce congestion is by running 15car trains that would provide 33 per cent more capacity than the existing 12car services Items on agenda Other issues to be raised by these MPs Security for women More Rajdhani trips from Mumbai and additional AC trains on routes where demand is more namely MumbaiAhmedabad MumbaiPune and other routes Making arrangements to reduce trespassingrelated mishaps on tracks and improving hospitalisation facilities Better parking services outside stations and commercial utilisation of railway land to increase revenueu00a0