Much Accolades For Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu

It seems Railway Minister Suresh Babu is doing all the right moves as he is become the most celebrated political figure in India in social media. And just when you thought that you saw his best, he is ready with another big change. On Sunday, 7th February, Suresh Prabhu inaugurated railway projects worth Rs 373 crore which will serve to improvise the rail connectivity between Chennai and other cities and also provide for better infrastructure and services.

The gigantic Rs. 373 crore project includes two broad gauge lines, the 30-km Tambaram–Chengalpet line, which is expected to cost Rs 256 crore and the 15-km Chinnasalem–KallaKurichi line, which is expected to cost another Rs 116.6 crore more. In a function held at the East Tambaram railway grounds, the rail minister said, “In 2015 we were able to raise Rs 1.2 lakh crore through LIC for the infrastructure projects, which is the highest amount raised in the history of Indian railways. Moreover, we have decided to decentralize the railway projects decision making process where the state government and other stakeholders will be given more preference.” He further explained “As both the GST and the Chennai-Kanyakumari line passes through Tambaram and with Chengalpet located 30 kms from Tambaram, the BG route has huge potential to be developed and for Chengalpet to become the next satellite town of Chennai.”

Through video conferencing, he inaugurated southern railway’s first e-bedroll facility, also called 'personalized take away bedroll’ at Chennai Central and Thiruvananthapuram Central. The e-bedroll facility comes in two different kits and would be available to any ticket holder.

Speaking about the safety and accidents in railways, Prabhu said, “Geospatial technology will map the whole rail network and that will help in tracking trains in real time. Whenever a train approaches an alarm will automatically go off to prevent accidents”. He also spoke on the much needed healthy sanitation in railways.  “There is a direct link between water, sanitation, public health and productivity. We are working on major initiatives to keep the railways clean. There is a marked improvement in sanitation in railways and we should invent water free and odor free toilets”, he said. Prabhu also encouraged new entrepreneurs to work in partnership with the railways.

The rail minister who has over 500,000 Twitter followers has the netizens gushing over his commendable job, which includes keeping the railway premises clean, saving the life of a two-year-old and helping a girl from harassment.