In a significant gathering, Members of Parliament from Pune and Solapur areas convened a meeting with the General Manager of Central Railway, Naresh Lalwani, and Principal Heads of various railway departments, along with the Divisional Railway Managers of Pune and Solapur divisions.
The meeting, held at the Divisional Railway Manager's office in Pune on 14th October, saw the participation of 9 MPs, each representing their respective constituencies.
A Notable Roster of Distinguished MPs
The distinguished MPs present at the meeting included, Srinivas Patil - Lok Sabha, Satara,Vandana Chavan - Rajya Sabha, Sadashiv Kisan Lokhande - Lok Sabha, Shirdi, Srirang Appa Barane - Lok Sabha, Maval, Shashidhar Shivacharya Swamy - Lok Sabha, Solapur, Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangare - Lok Sabha, Latur, Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar - Lok Sabha, Madha, Dhairyashsheel Mane - Lok Sabha, Hatkanangle
Omprakash Bhupal Singh (Pawan Raje Nimbalkar) - Lok Sabha, Osmanabad.
Comprehensive Discussions
The meeting served as a platform for comprehensive discussions with the General Manager and other senior railway officials on a multitude of topics. These discussions encompassed various railway projects, ongoing and completed development works, and issues related to passenger facilities at railway stations.
Notable outcomes of the meeting included the election of Shrirang Appa Barne as the Chairman of the Divisional Parliamentary Committee for Pune Railway Division and Dr. Jayasidheswar Shivacharya Mahaswamiji as the Chairman of the Divisional Parliamentary Committee for Solapur Railway Division.
Pune and Solapur Railway Division Managers Update
The Divisional Railway Managers of Pune and Solapur Divisions, Indu Dubey and Neeraj Kumar Dohre, presented updates on completed and ongoing works. These included the addition of new halts for passenger trains, installation of lifts and escalator facilities at various stations, construction of road over bridges, subways replacing level crossing railway gates, and various other projects.
Numerous topics were discussed in detail during the meeting, including railway track doubling, train halts, platform expansion, electrification of new trains, passenger facilities at stations, escalators, lifts, new foot over bridges, LED lighting, the UTS mobile app ticket system, and beautification of stations, among others.
Addressing Over 300 Issues
An impressive total of over 300 issues were addressed during the meeting. Some key demands from the MPs included the resumption of services for CSMT-Kolhapur Express and Sahyadri Express, as well as the conversion of the Mahalaxmi 17411/12 Express coaches from ICF to LHB. Vandana Chavan emphasized the need for an increase in Pune-Lonavala local train services and extensions to Daund, among other proposals.
Ranjit Singh Nimbalkar called for the introduction of the Vande Bharat train between Mumbai and Kolhapur, along with addressing various Pune-Phaltan DEMU train issues. Dhairyasheel Mane discussed the progress of the Hatkanangale-Ichalkaranji new line, train halts at Rukadi and Jaisinghpur, and several other issues.
Four-Hour Meeting Yields Fruitful Outcomes
The meeting lasted for nearly 4 hours and resulted in fruitful discussions on a wide range of developmental issues, strengthening the collaboration between Members of Parliament and railway officials to improve the rail network and services in Pune and Solapur regions.
