Lalu Yadav Gifts Loco Plants To Chhapra & Rae Bareli

Lalu showed he was sensitive not only to the needs of his LS constituency but also of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

He announced a Rs 1,000 crore loco manufacturing plant at Marhaura in his constituency Chhapra but simultaneously announced a Rs 1,000 crore railway coach manufacturing plant for Rae Bareli. The two coach-manufacturing units have been conceived with the anticipation that demand for coaches in the railways would increase in coming days and the ministry is hesitant to import them. 

Replying to the debate, Lalu also unveiled an ambitious plan to invite global tenders for upgradation and beautification of major railway stations.

The plan to give a new modern looks to railway stations would involve setting up of food courts, multi-storeyed railway platforms and escalators and walkways. These railway stations will include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Patna, Chandigarh and Thiruvananthapuram.

While the facilities envisaged would put railway stations at par with the best and may appear to be geared to win over urban folk, the railway minister also chose to make a political statement for his constituency among the rural masses.