The Railway budget for the next year, however, contains a few proposals for survey of railway lines and a little higher allocation for a few existing projects in West Bengal. This is now Mr. Nitish Kumar has tried to pacify the people of West Bengal who for more than a decade have been clamouring for a larger railway network in the State. The proposal for extension of the Metro Railway upto Garia has found a place in the Railway Budget because the Left Front Government has agreed to bear 33% of the cost of extension. The Circular Railway is proposed to be extended upto Majherhat on the assurance of the State Government that will bear a part of the cost.

The Railway Minister hails from Bihar and his Samata Party us entrenched in Bihar and the State of Bihar gains from the Railway Budget most next year. The TDP and the Shiv Sena have been kept in good humour and the State of Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra have been awarded several new railway projects too.

That the Metro Railway will be extended from Tolloygunge to Garia was known well ahead of the Railway budget having been placed in the Lok Sabha. The announcement of the Left Front Government that it would share 33% of the cost of extension paved the way for inclusion of the extension project in the Railway Budget. The Railway Minister also had given a hint to the State M.P.s and MLs coming over to the Calcutta earlier that the project would be taken up subject to the State Government bearing 33% of the cost. The DYFI activists too had submitted memorandum to the Railway Minister, in Delhi demanding of the Metro and Circular Railway extension Rs. 10 crores extension project. For the Metro Railway have been earmarked.

The Left Front Government has welcomed the decision of the Centre to extend the Metro Railway upto Garia. The Railway Minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar however announced that the extended portion of the Circular Railway would be a single-track route.

For development of the Haldia region, the CPI (M) MP Lakshman Seth had for quite some been making pleas to the Railway Minister. He also personally met Mr. Nitish Kumar in on October 28. Seth also proposed to the local S.E.Railway authorities that the proposed express train to Haldia be named after martyr Matangini Hazra. It may be mentioned here that the State Government had all along assured the Centre of its cooperation to develop the Shalimar area from where the proposed Inter-City Haldia Express will travel. New surveys have been proposed for the Bakreswar-Suri and Murshidabad-Kandi lines. Work is also to be taken up for the Badalghat-Dalhola lines. A survey for gauge conversion of the Burdwan-Katwa line has been proposed. Surveys for doubling the Lalgola-Krishnagar line and Baruipur-Lakshmikantapur lines and the Sheoraphuli-Tarakeswar line been proposed. For the gauge conversion between New Jalpaiguri and Bongaigaon Rs. 69 crores has been allotted but for the Bankura-Damodar Railway a paltry sum of Rs. 5 lakhs have been provided.

For the long pending projects such as Howrah-Amta, Tamluk-Digha, Lakshmikantopur-Namkhana, Eklakhi-Balurghat, Budge Budge-Ekrar, Bangaon-Petropole a total sum of Rs. 59 crores have been provided in the next year’s Railway Budget. It is however not certain if work will at all be started during the next fiscal year with funds available for the respective projects.