In a bid to reduce carbon footprint, railway minister Mamata Banerjee, presenting her second Rail Budget for 2010-11 on Wednesday, proposed distri- bution of 2.6 million CFLs and setting up of 10 eco- parks under the PPP model.

These facilities could be used as trauma centres for emergencies, accidents and natural disasters
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a massive joint health initiative which involves the setting up of 522 hospitals and diagnostic centres in all the major sta- tions of the country. This will be done in collaboration with the ministry of health.

In October 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh forwarded a note prepared by the Planning Commission to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on the problems being faced by the Indian Railways and the ways these needed to be addressed.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is pushing hard the Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee to get a good deal for the state from the railway budget. The state wants to get maximum allocation for the 29 railway projects that it has proposed with the Centre.

The proposal includes 21 new routes and expansion of two routes.

Hyderabad: The railway ministry has offered to include a new rail line for AP in the Railway Budget just a day before it is to be presented in Parliament.

The ministry informed the state government of the proposal to include a new line between Chikballapur and Puttaparti. However, it also wants the state government to bear 50 per cent of the project cost.

THRISSUR: The prospects for allocation of funds for the rail coach factory in Palakkad in the ensuing Railway Budget were dim following the delay in acquisition of the required land for the factory by the State Government, said P C Chacko MP.

The work on the railway project linking Tripura with Akhaura in Bangladesh will be completed by 2014, officials said today.

India and Nepal are set to ink an agreement to provide railway connectivity and augment existing lines between the two countries. Once constructed, these rail lines will provide India better access to the Madhes (Terai) region of the Himalayan country. The agreement is likely to be signed during the ongoing visit of Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav to India.

Delhi Metro chief Sreedharan to head the committee.

A committee of experts headed by the Delhi Metro Chief, Mr E. Sreedharan, will study afresh the issue of allowing new railway lines through the forests of the Western Ghats and hills in the southern region of Karnataka.

Raktima Bose