Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa commended Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Railway Minister, Sadananda Gowda, for having practiced transparency in placing before the country the true status of the Indian Railways. Their approach is fiscally responsible and very bold.

"We look forward to the new initiatives to raise finances and the proposed improvements in projects and operational management bearing fruit and thereby delivering on the hopes and aspirations that have been created," she said in a statement.

Safety-related initiatives

She welcomed the minister's proposal to work closely with the State Governments on several safety-related initiatives, including speedy conversion of unmanned level crossings and involving States in the monitoring of ongoing projects. This reflects a new working style and culture which will augur well for speedier project implementation.

Urban transportation

She said that the holistic approach proposed to achieve greater urban transport integration with Railways responds to a long-standing request that the Tamil Nadu Government has placed to integrate urban transportation in Chennai. "I hope this also leads to an early decision on the handover of the MRTS network in Chennai to the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd as I had already requested," she said.

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