Mamata Banerjee’s largesse for Maharashtra

MUMBAI - Maharashtra and Mumbai have benefited substantially from Railway Minister Mamata Banerjees budget Friday that has proposed new services both in the suburban and long-distance sectors.

On the Central Railway and Western Railway, nine new trains have been announced:

1. Tirupati-Amravati Express (bi-weekly) via Akola, Nizamabad, Gooty, Dharmavaram.

2. Nagpur-Kolhapur Express (bi-weekly) via Kurduwadi, Lathur Road, Purna, Akola.

3. Pune-Nanded Express (weekly) via Latur.

4. Ranchi-Pune Express (bi-weekly) via Bilaspur.

5. Chennai-Shirdi Express (weekly) via Bangalore.

6. Nagpur-Bhusawal Express (tri-weekly) via Itarsi-Khandwa.

7. Mumbai-Chandigarh Express(weekly) via Phulera-Ringus-Gurgaon-Kurukshetra.

8. Bhuj-Dadar Express(bi-weekly).

9. Udaipur-Bandra(T) Express (tri-weekly) via Ratlam.

Five new trains shall pass through various points on the Central Railway:

1. Ahmedabad-Yesvantpur AC Express (weekly) via Hubli, Bijapur.

2. Bhavnagar-Kochuvelli Express (weekly) via Panvel, Madgaon.

3. Porbander-Kochuveli Express (weekly) via Panvel, Madgaon.

4. Howrah-Nanded Express (weekly).

5. Hyderabad-Darbhanga Express (weekly) via Muri-Jharsuguda-Nagpur.

Two new daily trains under the Rajya-Rani EXPRESS, connecting state capitals with important towns have been announced:

1. Sawantwadi Road-Mumbai Express.

2. Manmad-Mumbai Express, via Nashik.

The state has got three new Duronto services:

1. Allahabad-Mumbai AC Duronto (bi-weekly).

2. Pune-Ahmedabad AC Duronto (tri-weekly).

3. Mumbai Central-New Delhi AC Duronto (bi-weekly).

The frequency of two existing Durontos has been increased to cater to the growing rush of passengers:

1. Mumbai CST-Howrah Duronto Express from 2 days to 4 days.

2. Nagpur-Mumbai CST Duronto Express from 3 days to daily.

A new Shatabdi Express has been announced between Pune and Secunderabad.

A new AC double-decker service will be introduced on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai sector.

A Janam Bhoomi Gaurav tourist special train will run on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Lothal-Bhavnagar-Alang-Gir-Diu-Junagad-Rajkot-Mumbai route.

The journeys of five existing train services have been extended on various sectors:

1. Solapur-Gadag Express to Hubli.

2. Jabalpur-Nagpur Express to Amravati.

3. Mumbai-Allahabad Express to Faizabad via Jaunpur, Shahganj.

4. Hyderabad-Wadi Passenger to Gulbarga.

5. Hubli-Bijapur Passenger to Solapur.

Similarly, the frequency of four trains has been increased in various directions:

1. Nagpur-Ahmedabad Express from weekly to bi-weekly.

2. Jaipur-Pune Express from weekly to bi-weekly.

3. Mumbai CST-Mangalore Express from 3 days to daily.

4. Surat-Amravati Fast Passenger from 2 days to 3 days.

On the critical Mumbai suburban sector, Banerjee has announced 47 additional services on the Thane-Vashi, Thane-Panvel, Borivali-Virar, Andheri-Virar, Bandra-Virar and Churchgate-Borivali sections.

Besides, she has proposed to increase 107 suburban services in the Mumbai area from the present 9 car EMUs to 12 car EMUs.