Shimla. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur held a meeting with Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav at New Delhi today. Union Minister for Sports, Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur was also present in the meeting. The Chief Minister urged the Union Railways Minister for expansion of railway network in the state. He said that state government has made efforts to give pace to the work on Bhanupali-Bilaspur railway line so that it could be completed soon. He requested the Union Minister to hasten up the work on this railway line and added that extension of this line up to Leh is very important from strategic point of view. He apprised that full length survey on the line is over and urged for taking further action in this matter. Jai Ram Thakur also requested for starting work immediately on Baddi-Chandigarh railway line as land acquisition work on the side of Himachal Pradesh has been done. This would be helpful in connecting with the Baddi-Amritsar-Kolkata corridor and boost industrial activities in the industrial belt of the state. He urged for starting the work from Baddi side as all formalities have been completed. He also requested for conducting survey on Jagadhari-Paonta Sahib railway line which would help in connecting Kala Amb industrial area to Baddi-Amritsar-Kolkata corridor.
He also urged the Railways Minister for upgrading the Kalka-Shimla railway track as the speed of the train is very slow and added that new coaches should be added to the train as present ones are very old. He suggested to introducing state of art train on the Kalka-Shimla route to boost tourism and showcasing heritage of the State to attract more tourists. He also discussed about Joginder Nagar and Una-Hamirpur railway lines. The Union Railways Minister assured the Chief Minister of enhancing funds for Bhanupali-Bilaspur railway line for its speedy completion. He also asked to send a proposal for introducing the State of Art Train in PPP mode. He said that possibilities would be explored to fulfil the demands of the State. He also informed that the Ministry would soon send a proposal on Una-Hamirpur railway line to the State. Anurag Thakur also gave his valuable inputs in the meeting and urged for early action on Una-Hamirpur railway line. Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh and Principal Resident Commissioner Sushil Kumar Singla were also present in the meeting.
