That Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav hardly misses an opportunity to narrate his favourite “Indian Railways turnaround” tale is well documented. But, probably for the first time ever, Lalu, while addressing a public gathering at Rewari in South Haryana on Sunday, credited UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi with being the driving force behind this turnaround. The Congress President was also present at the meeting.“Soniaji asked me to reduce fares. We reduced fares each year and even then earned profits,” Lalu told the audience. “Bina hing ya phatkari, humne Rs 20,000 crore kamaya,” he said, trying to drive home the point that he had transformed Railways into a Rs 20,000-crore cash surplus entity without any major input costs. He added, “Soniaji ne Haryana ka kaya kalp karaya”.Lalu also laid the foundation stone for a new rail line between Rohtak and Rewari via Jhajjar and inaugurated the gauge conversion project of the second line between Delhi-Sarai Rohilla and Rewari. The proposed rail link between Rohtak and Rewari assumes significance since the Haryana Government will be sharing 50 per cent of the cost of construction. This is the first time in the history of Northern Railways that a new line is being laid with a state sharing the cost. The 75.35-km link will be constructed at a cost of Rs 194.83 crore. “This line is a symbol of respect which the Governments in the Centre and Haryana have for this area,” Sonia Gandhi said dedicating the projects to the martyrs and freedom fighters of the region.The conversion of the 79-km-long meter-gauge line to broad-gauge at a cost of Rs 207.31 crore is in line with the Indian Railways policy to have a uni-gauge policy. Significantly, this line, before conversion, was the oldest meter-gauge line in Asia. The newly-converted line is expected to facilitate better connectivity to Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.Lalu also laid the foundation stone for the electrification of Shakurbasti-Rohtak section of Northern Railways and flagged off two new trains — New Delhi-Rohtak Express and Delhi-Rewari Passenger.
