Kotla lays foundation stone for escalators at Kurnool City Rly Station

Kurnool, Jan 25 : Minister of State for Railways Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy laid the foundation stone for installation of Escalators at Kurnool City Railway Station here on Saturday. MLC M Sudhakar Babu, several other dignitaries and senior railway officials were present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy said that the escalators being provided at the Kurnool City Railway Station on Platform 1, 2 & 3 will go a long way in enhancing passenger comfort. The Escalators will pave the way for enhanced passenger comforts. On completion, these Escalators will be of immense use to rail passengers especially for the differently-abled, sick persons and senior citizens etc. The estimated cost of these Escalator works is Rs. 1.9 crores, he informed. For the convenience of road commuters, a Road Under Bridge is planned to be constructed at Krishna Nagar in the city shortly, the Minister added.

Elaborating on the rail infrastructure being developed in the region, the Minister of State for Railways said that plans are afoot for several railway developmental works in the region which will help in providing jobs for the unemployed youth and also providing more facilities / services for the rail passengers. A Midlife Coach Rehabilitation Centre at an estimated cost of Rs 250 crores will be set up in Kurnool, the Minister stated. A proposal has been initiated to set up a pit line at a cost of Rs 6.5 crores near Kurnool to facilitate maintenance of coaches and the introduction of new trains, he said and added that introduction of a Double Decker train to Tirupati via this route is also under consideration.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, K.L. Pandey, Additional General Manager, South Central Railway, said that SCR has continuously been upgrading passenger amenity infrastructure to provide modern facilities for the comfort of passengers all over the Zone. As of now, SCR has set up 17 escalators at four major stations i.e., Vijayawada, Secunderabad, Tirupati and Kacheguda and will install 32 more Escalators at several other railway stations in the near future. The escalators being provided at Kurnool City Railway Station are technologically advanced and will smoothly carry 100 passengers per minute, he added.

Rakesh Aron, Divisional Railway Manager, Hyderabad Division, SCR proposed the Vote of Thanks. INN