Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flaggs off daily Hyderabad-Gulbarga Intercity Express and weekly Mumbai-Kazipet Tadoba Express

Hyderabad, August 9: History was made on Monday when Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu switched on, through remote video link, and launched the daily Hyderabad-Gulbarga Intercity Express and weekly Mumbai-Kazipet Tadoba Express.

These apart, the Railway Minister flagged off the first time-tabled weekly CONCOR Cargo Express Service between Nagalapalli and Tuqlakabad. He also commissioned two lifts at the Nizamabad railway station and inaugurated 100 per cent LED lighting at Hyderabad and Kacheguda stations here, apart from throwing open AC retiring rooms and a dormitory at the Secunderabad station, reports thehindu.com.

Addressing the gathering at platform no. 10 in Secunderabad station, Mr. Prabhu said the Indian Railways was committed to doing everything it could to develop the youngest State of the Indian Republic. “We will do everything to help develop the region,” he said, to applause.

In the presence of a host of VIPs, including Union Ministers Hansraj Gangaram Ahir (Home Affairs) and Bandaru Dattatreya (Labour), Deputy Chief Minister Syed Mahmood Ali, Ministers in the Telangana Cabinet Naini Narsimha Reddy (Home), Talasani Srinivas Yadav (Animal Husbandry and Cinematography), T. Padma Rao (Excise) and P. Mahender Reddy (Transport), and State president of Bharatiya Janata Party K. Laxman, he also flagged off the no. 11083 weekly Mumbai-Kazipet Tadoba Express.

As for the time-tabled cargo services, the Minister said it was to be remembered that two-thirds of the revenue of Indian Railways came from freight traffic, and hence the attention. “When did we ever hear of a goods train coming to a particular station at so-and-so time?,” he asked. This is a priority area, and we will adhere to timings so that people who wish to avail the service could do so by planning their logistics too.

Speaking on the LED lighting in Hyderabad and Kacheguda stations, he said saving on energy has become a mission. “Since we came to power in the year 2014, we have saved Rs. 3,500 crore on power alone,” he declared. “As the youngest State of the country is on a path of development, we wish to partner in the endeavour, and greenfield terminals at Cherlapalli and Nagulapalli are just the beginning,” he stated. Replying to a question, Mr. Prabhu said that the task of exploring a link between Umdanagar and the international airport at Shamshabad was being entrusted to RITES, possibly through an underground link like it was the case in several airports across the globe.