VIJAYAWADA: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, said “a staggering Rs 8,406 crore allocation was made for the Railways in of Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget for the year 2023-24.
This was against the Rs 7,032 crore in 2022-23, a rise of 20 per cent. He said, against this, Rs 4,418 crore has been allocated to the Telangana State. He recalled that the allocation between 2019-2014 for the combined states was only Rs 886 crore.
The minister interacted with the media of both the Telugu states on the Railway Budget 2023 allocations, from Rail Bhavan, New Delhi via video conferencing. He said a total of 72 stations in Andhra Pradesh were taken up to be developed as world-class stations.
He said that the Vande Bharat Rail was successful and the occupancy rate was almost 120 per cent in the train that runs between Visakhapatnam and Secunderabad.
Later, Shivendra Mohan, divisional railway manager of Vijayawada, said “the Budget allocations to Andhra Pradesh have been witnessing sustained increases with the current year’s allocation being almost 9.5 times the average allocation done during 2009-14.
On the annual performance of Vijayawada division and the highlights of the Budget 2023-24, he said the division achieved a lot of progress the current year and the earnings of the division would be on a higher note as compared to the earnings in the previous 2-3 years.
The Vijayawada division has done a lot of infrastructure works. Traffic facilities and safety have been improved within the target date of completion of these projects,” he added.
Rs 202 Crore allotted for Nadikudi–Srikalahasti new line project: The project was sanctioned in 2011-12 for a distance of 309 km with a sanctioned fund of Rs 2, 289 crore. Some 50 per cent of the project cost was to be borne by the state government while it also gave the land free of cost.
“The section between New Piduguralla to Savalyapuram, for a distance of 46 km, is completed and commissioned along with electrification. Works are in progress in the remaining sections.”
Rs 100 crore allotted for Kotipalli–Narsapur new line project: The project was sanctioned in 2000-01 for a distance of 57 km for a sanctioned cost of Rs 2,120 crore. Some 25 per cent of the project cost would be met by the state. The new line works in this section involved construction of major bridges on Gowthami, Vynatheya and Vashista rivers, which are in progress.
Rs 20 Crore has been allotted for the Bhadrachalam - Kovvur new line project. The project was sanctioned in 2012-13 for a distance of 151 km at a sanctioned cost of Rs 1,445 crore and later it was revised to Rs 2,154.83 crore.
The official said Rs 800 crore was allotted for Vijayawada – Gudur 3rd line project. The 3rd Line project was sanctioned in 2015-16 for a distance of 288km with a sanctioned cost of Rs 3549 crore. A sum of `980 crore was allotted for the Guntur – Guntakal doubling project. The doubling project was sanctioned in 2016-17 for a distance of 404-km with a sanctioned cost of Rs 3,631 crore.
He said Rs 337.52 crore was allotted for Kazipet – Vijayawada 3rd line project. The 3rd Line project was sanctioned in 2012-13 for a distance of 220 km with a sanctioned cost of Rs 1,953 crore. A sum of Rs 90.6 crore was allotted for the Gooty – Dharmavaram doubling project. A sum of Rs 100 was crore was allotted for the Vijayawada – Gudivada / Machilipatnam-Bhimavaram / Narsapur–Nidadavolu doubling and electrification.
This apart, Rs 40 crore was allotted for the Dharmavaram -Pakala - Katpadi doubling project. The project was sanctioned in 2019-20 for a distance of 290km with a sanctioned cost of Rs 2,900 crore.
A sum of Rs 60 crore was allotted for the Guntur - Bibinagar doubling project. The project was sanctioned in 2019-20 for a distance of 248 km with a sanctioned cost of Rs 2,480 crore.
A sum of Rs 383.12 crore was allocated for the construction of bypass lines at Vijayawada (19.5 km), Kazipet (10.65 km), Renigunta (9.6 km), Wadi (7.6 km) and Gooty (3.8 km) covering Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka states.
The bypass lines at Gooty have been completed and works at remaining stations are in fast progress. A sum of Rs 32.8 crore has been allocated towards electrification between Pagidipalli - Nallapadu (285 km).
A sum of Rs 125 crore was allotted for the Midlife Rehabilitation factory in Kurnool.
Meanwhile, Waltair division of East Coast Railway zone got a record allocation of Rs 2857.85 crore in the current budget. Divisional railway manager Anup Satpathy, briefing the media in Visakhapatnam on Friday, said more than Rs 2,800 crore was allocated to Waltair division for various developmental activities.
