Discussions Held on Public Concerns and Railway Development

Works

MPs praised the efforts made by Prayagraj Division

Prayagraj, 10 July (HS): Indian Railways is the lifeline of

the nation and is making a significant contribution to the country's

development. In this direction, North Central Railway (NCR) continues to play a

leading role as a vital segment of Indian Railways. Today, on July 10, 2026, a

high-level and important meeting was organized under the chairmanship of Member

of Parliament/Aligarh Satish Kumar Gautam at the auditorium of the Hotel Kanha

Shyam in Prayagraj. The meeting brought together MPs of the Prayagraj Division

of North Central Railway and their distinguished representatives along with the

General Manager. The main objective of the meeting was to share the division's

recent achievements, review infrastructure development, and seek valuable

suggestions from the public representatives to give a new direction to railway

development projects.

Speaking on the occasion, Naresh Pal Singh, General Manager,

North Central Railway, said, We have taken special steps toward

increasing line capacity, improving and upgrading passenger amenities, ensuring

safe train operations, prioritizing employee welfare, and implementing green

initiatives for environmental conservation. Remarkable work is being done to

develop and strengthen our infrastructure.

He added, A very positive change has emerged over the

last few years. Various railway projects that used to get stalled for years due

to the unavailability of adequate funds are now being provided ample budgetary

support by the Government. Additionally, project monitoring from the highest

level has accelerated their completion. Indian Railways is also effectively

utilizing innovation and modern technology in its operations. To meet the

expectations of our esteemed passengers, rail users, and the general public,

swift resolution of complaints is being ensured through the AI-based RailMadad

Portal (139).

The General Manager stated that Prayagraj Division, as a

crucial part of Indian Railways, is continuously dedicated to public service.

This division connects major parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with the

rest of the nation. Discussing the achievements of the division, Shri Singh

informed that in the financial year 2025-26, the total originating passenger

count stood at approximately 7.40 crore, generating an originating passenger

revenue of Rs. 1699 crore, while freight loading contributed approximately Rs. 893

crore to the earnings.

He further mentioned that keeping public demand in mind, the

operation of the Prayagraj–Dadri Special Train (02417/18) was commenced

recently, providing a major convenience to passengers traveling to and from

Noida NCR and Jewar Airport. In addition, a total of 14,127 special trips were

operated, including festival, summer, mela, and exam specials, and 24 pairs of

special trains were run. Eighteen pairs of new trains, including Amrit Bharat,

Vande Bharat, and Rajdhani, were introduced. Furthermore, four pairs of MEMU

trains were augmented from 8-car to 12-car compositions.

Discussing station redevelopment and Amrit Stations, he

highlighted that two major stations of Prayagraj Division—Prayagraj Junction and

Kanpur Central—are being developed under the Station Redevelopment Plan. Apart

from this, out of the 15 stations selected under the Amrit Bharat Station

Scheme in Prayagraj Division, work on 5 stations has been completed, and the

remaining projects are progressing rapidly and will be completed within this

financial year.

Elaborating on infrastructure growth, the General Manager

informed that Prayagraj Division laid 28 km of new railway lines, and

electronic interlocking-based automatic signaling systems were successfully

commissioned across 25.18 km in three block sections of the third line. The

Kavach safety system was successfully commissioned over a total of 400 km,

enhancing the safety and reliability of train operations.

Singh assured all the MPs that the valuable suggestions

received from them would be studied with utmost seriousness. These inputs will

be integrated into railway development plans and passenger amenity upgrades at

the division level. Suggestions that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the

zonal railway will be forwarded to the Railway Board and other concerned zones.

Following the General Manager’s address, the Senior Divisional Commercial

Manager presented a detailed PowerPoint presentation showcasing the ongoing

developmental activities in Prayagraj Division.

Subsequently, the Members of Parliament and representatives

of other MPs placed their suggestions and demands. These primarily focused on

public welfare matters, including new train services, train frequencies and

stoppages, redevelopment of major stations, expansion of passenger amenities,

enhancement of rail infrastructure and network capacity, safety, crowd

management, station premises management, and the quality and maintenance of

basic passenger amenities.

In this context, the Chairman of the meeting and MP from

Aligarh, Satish Kumar Gautam, demanded stoppages for Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and

Vande Bharat trains at Aligarh station, creating direct connectivity to Mathura

by linking Medhu in Hathras, and setting up a vending zone on vacant station

land.

MP from Rewa, Janardan Mishra, raised demands for the

development of Dabhaura station with new amenities, improving cleanliness in

waiting halls and toilets, installing additional passenger sheds, and restoring

discontinued train halts.

MP from Kanpur Nagar, Ramesh Awasthi, emphasized

safeguarding the interests of outsourced employees, introducing a new train

between Kanpur and New Delhi under the name 'Kanpur Mail', and issuing ID cards

to stall workers at stations for enhanced security. He also suggested

increasing the stoppage time of the Vande Bharat Express and setting up a

library at Kanpur station.

MP from Hathras, Anoop Valmiki, stressed the need for

installing escalators and upgrading cleanliness, alongside demanding stoppages

for the Link Express, Udhampur Express, and Poorva Express.

MP Geeta Shakya requested constructing a Road Over Bridge

(ROB) at Achhalda, a Road Under Bridge (RUB) at Kanchausi, and setting up baby

feeding spaces for women at stations.

MP from Fatehpur, Naresh Uttam Patel, requested increasing

the stoppage time of trains at Fatehpur station from 2 minutes to 4 or 5 minutes,

while also appreciating the development works being undertaken by the railways.

Dr. S.P. Singh Patel, representing Union Minister Anupriya

Patel, demanded a stoppage for the Muri Express at Lusa station. Vinay

Kushwaha, representing MP from Allahabad constituency Ujjwal Raman Singh,

suggested an underpass at Kathauli, train stoppages at Karchhana and Bheerpur,

the introduction of non-AC and AC parcel trains, and displaying station names

using LED or radium signage.

The meeting was attended by MPs: Anup Pradhan Balmiki, Satish

Kumar Gautam, Jitendra Kumar Dohare, Janardan Mishra, Naresh Chandra Uttam

Patel, Smt. Geeta Shakya, and Ramesh Awasthi.

The following MP Representatives were also present: Amar

Nath Singh Maurya (Representative of MP Devesh Shakya), radeep Choudhary

(Representative of Pushpendra Saroj), Sandeep Dwivedi (Representative of

Praveen Patel), Anoop Mishra (Representative of Mukesh Rajput), Ram Narayan

Batham (Representative of Dimple Yadav), Vasudev Yadav and Dr. Man Singh Yadav

(Representatives of Akhilesh Yadav), Gopal Yadav (Representative of Prof. Ram

Gopal Yadav), S.P. Singh Patel (Representative of Anupriya Patel), Santosh

Kumar (Representative of Krishna Devi Shivshankar Patel), Vinay Kushwaha

(Representative of Ujjwal Raman Singh), Ram Balak Patel (Representative of

Virendra Singh), Kishan Gautam (Representative of Hardeep Singh Puri), and Rahul

Jaiswal (Representative of Darshana Singh). The meeting was conducted by Deputy

General Manager/General, Atul Mishra. Divisional Railway Manager Prayagraj, Rajnish

Agrawal, along with all Principal Heads of Departments of NCR Headquarters,

Divisional Branch Officers, and other senior officials were present during the

session.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi