Palakkad division of Southern Railways has proposed Rs 17.63 crore worth projects at Mangalore Central Railway station.
Mohan Menon, Additional Divisional Railway Manager of Palakkad division, said this at a review meeting conducted by Nalin Kumar Kateel, Member of Parliament from Mangalore, here on Thursday.
Giving details about the various works carried out by the Railways in Mangalore, he said the proposed work includes the development of a second entry to Mangalore Central Railway station. However, it is yet to be approved by the headquarters.
When Kateel wanted to know the progress in ‘World Class’ status to Mangalore Central railway station, which was announced in the Railway Budget two years ago, Menon said that the Budget had identified 50 stations in the country for this. Two of them – Mangalore Central and Kozhikode – come under the Palakkad division.
He said that such stations should ensure seamless integration across different modes of transportation, and ‘World Class’ stations should provide value-added passenger facilities.
The division has sent its report to the Southern Railways, covering the master plan the division has for Mangalore. Work on such projects has to be done in a phased manner, he said.
Participating in the meeting, Yogish Bhat, Mangalore MLA, said that the Karnataka Government has given approval to sanction financial assistance for the construction of a road-under-bridge near the Mangalore Junction Railway station, in the place of the existing level crossing.
The project worth Rs 5.16 crore will be taken up on a cost-sharing basis between the State Government and the Railways, he said.
Some members of the railway users’ associations brought various issues relating to railways in Mangalore to the notice of the meeting.
Answering those queries, Menon said that the Palakkad division is ready to host an ‘adalat’ kind of a meeting, if needed, to redress their problems.
Representatives from South Western Railway and Konkan Railway also attended the meeting.