During a visit to Kolkata, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw traveled by Metro and auto rickshaw before meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna, where he criticized the previous Trinamool Congress government for allegedly hindering railway projects and stated that current issues have been resolved, highlighting significant progress in Metro completion and increased funding under Prime Minister Modi compared to the previous UPA government. Vaishnaw also detailed future plans for railway modernization, including Amrit Bharat stations, flyovers, underpasses, bullet trains, and freight corridors, while Adhikari affirmed the state government's cooperation on land transfers for border security and railway development, noting the effective "double engine" functioning, and notably, two Trinamool Congress rebel MLAs also attended the railway meeting, citing constituency interests.

During a visit to Kolkata, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw traveled by Metro and auto rickshaw before meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna, where he criticized the previous Trinamool Congress government for allegedly hindering railway projects and stated that current issues have been resolved, highlighting significant progress in Metro completion and increased funding under Prime Minister Modi compared to the previous UPA government. Vaishnaw also detailed future plans for railway modernization, including Amrit Bharat stations, flyovers, underpasses, bullet trains, and freight corridors, while Adhikari affirmed the state government's cooperation on land transfers for border security and railway development, noting the effective "double engine" functioning, and notably, two Trinamool Congress rebel MLAs also attended the railway meeting, citing constituency interests.

During a visit to Kolkata, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw traveled by Metro and auto rickshaw before meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna, where he criticized the previous Trinamool Congress government for allegedly hindering railway projects and stated that current issues have been resolved, highlighting significant progress in Metro completion and increased funding under Prime Minister Modi compared to the previous UPA government. Vaishnaw also detailed future plans for railway modernization, including Amrit Bharat stations, flyovers, underpasses, bullet trains, and freight corridors, while Adhikari affirmed the state government's cooperation on land transfers for border security and railway development, noting the effective "double engine" functioning, and notably, two Trinamool Congress rebel MLAs also attended the railway meeting, citing constituency interests.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's visit to Kolkata on Saturday took an interesting turn as he travelled by Metro from the airport to Noapara, three stations away on the Yellow Line. Vaishnaw then boarded an auto rickshaw to meet his convoy at Belghoria Expressway. The railway minister then made his way to the state secretariat Nabanna in Howrah for a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Vaishnaw criticised the former Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for allegedly stalling railway projects in the state and not responding to several letters written from the railway ministry.

“Unfortunately, no matter how much we tried, the TMC government did not give us permission, and for some projects, they went to court over a small patch in Chingrighata," Vaishnaw said.

He alleged that, despite his ministry acting in accordance with directions from the Kolkata Police and having obtained permission from the High Court, the TMC government refused to grant approval. According to the Union minister, the state approached the Supreme Court to block the initiative, as it did not want people to receive the benefits.

“I said openly in parliament that the TMC government was anti-development," he added.

Vaishnaw also stated that during the previous government’s tenure, the issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) had been delayed on paper, and there were land acquisition issues. “These problems have now been resolved,” he added.

“In 12 years under Modiji, 45 km of Metro has been completed in Kolkata, whereas only 28 km were built in the previous 42 years,” Vaishnaw said. He added that while the former UPA government at the Centre had sanctioned Rs 4,000 crore for West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now approved Rs 14,205 crore for the state.

Vaishnaw also mentioned other projects, such as 102 Amrit Bharat railway stations focusing on modernisation, as well as 583 flyovers and underpasses worth Rs 1 lakh crore. A bullet train has been introduced from Delhi to Siliguri via Lucknow, Varanasi, and Patna, while the East-West freight corridor connecting Dankuni to Madhya Pradesh, touching many states in between, would help improve the economy. A proposal for 60 next-gen trains in the next five years was also laid out.

Meanwhile, Adhikari highlighted the state government’s efforts to transfer land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for fencing along the Bangladesh border, as well as to the railways for development projects, including the expansion of the Metro network.

“Double engine is functioning properly," said the chief minister.

Rebel TMC MLAs attend railway meeting

TMC Madhyamgram MLA Ratin Ghosh and Bagnan MLA Arunava Sen attended a key meeting with Vaishnaw on Saturday. The duo said they attended the meeting as railway projects involved their constituencies, too.

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