Maligaon, Sept 06: Eleven Members of Parliament from six Northeastern States today held a meeting with a team of senior railway officials lead by the General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway Shri Sanjive Roy at N. F. Railway Headquarters at Maligaon as part of the efforts by Indian Railways to reach out to people through their elected representatives.
The senior officials from N. F. Railway included the Divisional Railway Manager of Lumding Division Shri R.B. Rai and other Principal Head of Departments. The Members of Parliament were from the constituencies served by Lumding Division in the six NE states.
The meeting was organized to showcase and apprise the MPs of the developmental activities undertaken by Railways and to solicit their opinion and suggestions on future course of action to make railway more user-friendly.
The meeting was attended by MP Rajya Sabha from Mizoram Mr Ronald Sapa Tlau, MP Rajya Sabha from Nagaland Mr K. G. Kenye, MP Rajya Sabha from Meghalaya Smti Wansuk Syiem, MP Rajya Sabha from Assam Mr Ripun Bora, MP Rajya Sabha from Assam Shri Birendra Prasad Baishya.
The MP Lok Sabha from Mizoram Mr C Lalrosanga, MP Lok Sabha from Assam Mr Pradyut Bordoloi, MP Lok Sabha from Assam Smt Queen Ojha, MP Lok Sabha from Tripura Mr Rebati Tripura, MP Lok Sabha from Tripura Smt Pratima Bhoumik and MP Lok Sabha from Manipur Dr. Ranjan Singh Rajkumar. MP of Silchar Lok Sabha constituency Dr R Roy could not attend the meeting but sent his representative.
Detailing on the developmental activities of the Railway in Northeast, the General Manager Shri Sanjive Roy said that Railway is continuously thriving to fulfil aspirations of the people.
He said punctuality of passenger carrying trains has greatly improved and 92% of the trains in N. F. Railway ran on time during last month which is highest among all zonal railways in India. Shri Roy also said that all stations in NF Railway would be provided with free WiFi facility by the end of this month.
For convenience of travellers 8 lifts and 5 escalators have been installed in three stations of N. F. Railway in last financial year, the GM said adding that this year 35 more lifts and 16 more escalators are targeted to be installed in other stations.
The GM also informed the MPs that electrification of railway lines up to Guwahati is targeted for completion by March 2020. The Divisional Railway Manager Shri R B Rai elaborated on the achievements of the Lumding Division in providing better passenger amenities and cleanliness of stations. He said, Guwahati station has achieved ISO certification for waste management as stipulated by National Green Tribunal.
During the meeting, the MPs appreciated the efforts of Railways in providing better passenger experience and improving performance in terms of safety and punctuality and thanked the Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal for massive developmental works being under taken by the Indian Railways in the Northeast.
The MPs also put forward various suggestions for improving connectivity in the Northeast, introduction of new trains, additional stoppages of existing trains and improving other passenger amenities including cleanliness in trains in general which the GM had assured to implement wherever feasible.
