Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday set a target of 350 route kilometers for Railway electrification during 2005-06 and expressed confidence of meeting the current year's electrification target of 375 km.
Presenting the Rail Budget for the next fiscal, Prasad said the electrification during 2005-06 would cover Najibabad-Moradabad, Paravur-Trivandrum, Krishnanagar- Behrampur, Tirupati-Pakala-Katpadi and Talcher-Angul routes.
The Railway Budget 2005-06: Complete Coverage
Electrification of Villupuram-Pondicherry is also being taken up with 50 per cent of the cost being borne by government of Pondicherry, he said.
Besides the work for electrification of Moradabad-Lucknow- Utretia has also been included in this budget, Prasad said in his address.
As for the suburban transport projects, the minister said Phase-I of Thane-Turbhe-Vashi section in Navi Mumbai has been completed and opened for passenger traffic in November, 2004 and work on the second phase ie Turbhe-Nerul section is in progress.
Prasad said gauge conversions of full section between Chennai Beach and Chengalpattu has been completed and opened for traffic in November, 2004.
The Broad Gauge link between Chennai Egmore and Chennai Central has been approved as a part of the on-going suburban gauge conversion project, he said.
