Banerjee silent on private players running tourist trains

October 4th, 2009 SILIGURI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday announced a new train service between this northern West Bengal town and the coastal tourist destination of Digha in East Midnapore from Monday. "We'll flag off a new train from Siliguri to Digha tomorrow (Monday), which will connect two tourist spots of the state.

September 29th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday stepped in to bail out some of the passengers stranded due to the Air India pilots' strike. She arranged for special trains on various routes and asked union Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy to run an additional service of the Shipping Corporation of India Wednesday to bring back the air passengers stranded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

September 12th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday said that her ministry has already begun an austerity drive and taken several cost-cutting measures to reduce additional expenditure. "I'd issued an order to cut all additional expenditure and it's already been implemented in the railways," Banerjee said while flagging off two new trains -- Sealdah-Ajmirsharif Express and Farakka-Nabadwip Express -- from Sealdah station here.

August 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday flagged off the the first "Ladies Special" train here for women commuters from Delhi to Palwal in Haryana and said the service would be extended to other nearby cities Sonepat, Aligarh and Ghaziabad soon. "More 'Ladies Special' trains will be provided in the other suburban areas like Sonepat, Aligarh and Ghaziabad," Banerjee said.

July 19th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday flagged off the first ladies special EMU train and 19 augmented 12-coach EMU services in Howrah division in West Bengal, in line with the commitment she made during her 2009-10 budget speech. "This special ladies local train would ply between Howrah and Bandel station twice daily during the peak hours.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday introduced dedicated air-conditioned trains at affordable tariff for the youth, terming them as an asset for the country. I will run Yuva trains dedicated specifically for the young generation, Banerjee said in her budget speech in parliament Friday.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, presenting the rail budget for 2009-10 in parliament Friday, said all railway zones have been instructed to ensure availability of 'Janata Khana' - national and regional cuisines - on trains. "National and regional cuisines will be introduced and priority would be given to provision of good quality food, drinking water and toilet facilities and ensure cleanliness on trains and stations," Banerjee said.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Amidst much speculation and expectations, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday gave final touches to the rail budget, to be presented in parliament Friday. Shifting from the claims of high surplus by her predecessor Lalu Prasad, Banerjee has maintained from the day she assumed charge that her focus would be on improving passenger amenities and rationalisation of services such as Tatkal (instant ticketing) service.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government must allow entry of private players in passenger train operations and railway services to tourist destinations, the Economic Survey tabled in parliament Thursday said. "Private entry into provision of passenger train must be allowed to and from all the tourists destinations," said the survey.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Just a day before the government tables the railway budget, the Economic Survey for 2008-09 has suggested that the government should allow private players in passenger train operations to tourist spots. "Private entry into provision of passenger trains must be allowed to and from all the tourist destinations," said the survey.

June 23rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has imposed restrictions on foreign tours by officials of her ministry. "It is not possible to stop foreign tours when transfer of technology is required, but we will try to restrict tours for other purposes," Banerjee told reporters after an official function here.

June 14th, 2009 HOWRAH - The Indian Railways will run 66 pairs of special trains carrying pilgrims to Puri in Orissa for the June 24 Rathyatra festival, railways minister Mamata Banerjee said here Sunday. The railways will also run special trains between Sealdah in Kolkata and Rajasthan's Ajmer Sharif, which houses the mausoleum of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, on June 25 and June 26 for the celebration of the Urs or annual pilgrimage.

June 6th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday announced two pairs of daily trains between Howrah and Digha, a popular coastal hotspot in West Bengal that she aims to transform into a major tourist destination. "From now on, there would be two trains, one early in the morning and the other in the afternoon, from Howrah railway station to Digha.

January 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Dismissing a public interest petition on trains often running late, the Delhi High court Wednesday said it does not have a magic wand to solve all problems. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah pulled up the petitioner who was seeking directions to the government to run trains on time.

January 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways face a legal case for running trains late and putting passengers into trouble. Ramnath Garg, a Delhi resident, has filed a public interest petition in the Delhi High Court who has pointed out that trains running late by several hours put passengers in trouble as they go without food and water for protracted periods of time.