To invest Rs. 8.50 lakh cr in Haryana: Railway Minister.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu recently announced an investment of Rs. 8.50 lakh crore in Haryana in the next five years to strengthen rail network in the state. Prabhu, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana, also assured that a rail coach factory would be set up in the state.

He also said that to provide smooth journey to the passengers, it has been decided to develop 400 world class railway stations throughout the country.

The Union minister also said that the Railways will soon ink a pact with Haryana to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for prompt execution of the railway projects. 'The income generated by this company would be spent on various railway projects in Haryana,' he said.

The minister was addressing a gathering on the occasion of new halt of 12045/12046 New Delhi-Chandigarh-New Delhi Shatabdi Express Train at Karnal railway station from today, an official release said.

Prabhu, in the presence of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, also laid foundation stone for additional facilities for rail passengers and facelift of Karnal station. The Shatabdi Express train would have a halt of two minutes at Karnal station.

Describing it as an important day for not only the people of Karnal but also for the whole state, Prabhu said that Khattar had raised the demand for providing a stoppage of the train at Karnal and now the long pending demand of the people of the area has been fulfilled.

He said that though an announcement of the rail coach factory was made a few years ago, but no action was taken in this regard. 'Now we have reopened the file, held a series of meetings and decided to set it up in the state,' he added. The minister said that the 400 world class railway stations would be equipped with latest facilities.

The Union Cabinet has accorded approval for the setting up of these railway stations and internet bidding would soon be started for the same, the Union minister said. Everyday about three crore passengers travel in trains, he said. Prabhu also said that his maiden rail budget was praised.

'For the first time I got an opportunity to present Rail Budget in the Lok Sabha, which was highly appreciated by the people in the country,' he said. Prabhu said he had presented a report mentioning about 79 points concerning the betterment of rail services and most of these have been considered in the budget.

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