Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the Centre is working with the State government to resolve the issues pertaining to the land, identified at Mudasarlova in the city, for construction of the South Coast Railway (S Co R) Zonal Headquarters.
The Railway Minister visited Simhachalam and offered prayers at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. Later, he visited the Simhachalam railway station, located at Gopalapatnam in the city and inspected the station, which has been chosen for development as ‘Adarsh station’ at an estimated cost of ₹19.8 crore.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Vaishnaw announced that Simhachalam station would be developed as a ‘satellite station’ for Visakhapatnam junction. Referring to the emotional connect that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has with the railways right from his childhood, Mr. Vaishnaw said that Centre was committed to the establishment of S Co R. The Budget allocation for the Railways has grown multi-fold during the last nine years.
He said that the Budget allocation for the Railways in combined Andhra Pradesh was only ₹886 crore, nine years ago, the Budget allotment to Andhra Pradesh alone, this year, was ₹8,406 crore. In all, 22 railway stations in Andhra Pradesh would be developed as ‘world class stations’, these include: Visakhapatnam junction, Simhachalam, Kottavalasa, Duvvada, Anakapalli. The total overall investment on infrastructure like flyovers and underpasses in A.P. was to the tune of ₹18,000 crore.
The Simhachalam railway station would have four platforms, a double storeyed station building would be constructed and it would have a roof plaza. The station building design would have features reflecting the temple architecture. The old foot over bridge, which was in a dilapidated condition would be replaced.
Mr. Vaishnaw, who also holds the portfolio of Telecommunications and IT, said that India was being hailed by the West for the world’s fastest 5G rollout. “The Centre has already announced a revival package for BSNL,” he said.
Rajya Sabha Member G. V. L. Narasimha Rao drew the attention of the Railway Minister on the need to run special trains from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru as thousands of people living in these cities make it a point to return to their native places in Visakhapatnam and north Andhra for the Sankranti festival.
Mr. Vaishnaw directed the General Managers of East Coast Railway (E Co R) and South Central Railway (SCR) to look into the demand and run special trains.
Visakhapatnam West MLA P. V. G. R. Naidu, former MLC P. V. N. Madhav and Divisional Railway Manager Saurabh Prasad were among those who were present.
