Lalu Gifts Several Railway Projects to Bihar
Patna: February 26, 2008
 Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Tuesday, presented his 2008-09 populist Railway Budget showering Bihar with a plethora of sops including 14 new trains leaving for various parts of the country from a number of stations in Bihar and more than two dozen new railway projects for the state.
With no major changes in the railway fare, the budget makes provision for a goods train factory in Chhapra to be built at a cost of Rs. 40 crore, wagon factories in Mokama and Muzaffarpur, modernization of the Jamalpur railway factory at the cost of Rs. 82 crore, and construction of over-bridges at a dozen or so railway stations.
Among the new trains to be introduced under the new budget are a new biweekly Gareeb Rath between Patna and New Delhi, Jainagar-Saharsa Janki Express, Surat-Muzaffarpur Weekly, Malda-Patna Express, Delhi-Jogbani Weekly, Kamakhya-Gaya Express, Mathura-Chhapra Express, Puri-Darbhanga Express, Patna-VascoDaGama (Goa) Weekly Express, Gaya-Chennai Express, and Ranchi-Bhagalpur Tri-weekly, among others.
Yadav's wife and former Chief Minister of Bihar Rabri Devi who watched the budget on television at her official residence in Patna, described the budget as historical and 'record breaking'.
"By showing a profit of Rs. 25,000 crore without raising the train fare is a record in itself," said Rabri Devi adding the budget takes into account of all sections including women, students, and senior citizens.
"The Railway Minister has proved that he is not the one with empty rhetoric; he delivers on what he promises," she said.
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