Discussions Held on Public Concerns and Railway Development Works

Hon’ble MPs praised the efforts made by Prayagraj Division

Indian Railways is the lifeline of the nation and is making a significant contribution to the country's development. In this direction, North Central Railway (NCR) continues to play a leading role as a vital segment of Indian Railways. Today, on July 10, 2026, a high-level and important meeting was organized under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Member of Parliament/Aligarh Shri Satish Kumar Gautam at the auditorium of the Hotel Kanha Shyam in Prayagraj. The meeting brought together Hon’ble MPs of the Prayagraj Division of North Central Railway and their distinguished representatives along with the General Manager. The main objective of the meeting was to share the division's recent achievements, review infrastructure development, and seek valuable suggestions from the public representatives to give a new direction to railway development projects.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Naresh Pal Singh, General Manager, North Central Railway, said, "We have taken special steps toward increasing line capacity, improving and upgrading passenger amenities, ensuring safe train operations, prioritizing employee welfare, and implementing green initiatives for environmental conservation. Remarkable work is being done to develop and strengthen our infrastructure."

He added, "A very positive change has emerged over the last few years. Various railway projects that used to get stalled for years due to the unavailability of adequate funds are now being provided ample budgetary support by the Government. Additionally, project monitoring from the highest level has accelerated their completion. Indian Railways is also effectively utilizing innovation and modern technology in its operations. To meet the expectations of our esteemed passengers, rail users, and the general public, swift resolution of complaints is being ensured through the AI-based RailMadad Portal (139)."

The General Manager stated that Prayagraj Division, as a crucial part of Indian Railways, is continuously dedicated to public service. This division connects major parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with the rest of the nation. Discussing the achievements of the division, Shri Singh informed that in the financial year 2025-26, the total originating passenger count stood at approximately 7.40 crore, generating an originating passenger revenue of ₹1699 crore, while freight loading contributed approximately ₹893 crore to the earnings.

He further mentioned that keeping public demand in mind, the operation of the Prayagraj–Dadri Special Train (02417/18) was commenced recently, providing a major convenience to passengers traveling to and from Noida NCR and Jewar Airport. In addition, a total of 14,127 special trips were operated, including festival, summer, mela, and exam specials, and 24 pairs of special trains were run. Eighteen pairs of new trains, including Amrit Bharat, Vande Bharat, and Rajdhani, were introduced. Furthermore, four pairs of MEMU trains were augmented from 8-car to 12-car compositions.

Discussing station redevelopment and Amrit Stations, he highlighted that two major stations of Prayagraj Division—Prayagraj Junction and Kanpur Central—are being developed under the Station Redevelopment Plan. Apart from this, out of the 15 stations selected under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Prayagraj Division, work on 5 stations has been completed, and the remaining projects are progressing rapidly and will be completed within this financial year.

Elaborating on infrastructure growth, the General Manager informed that Prayagraj Division laid 28 km of new railway lines, and electronic interlocking-based automatic signaling systems were successfully commissioned across 25.18 km in three block sections of the third line. The Kavach safety system was successfully commissioned over a total of 400 km, enhancing the safety and reliability of train operations.

Shri Singh assured all the Hon’ble MPs that the valuable suggestions received from them would be studied with utmost seriousness. These inputs will be integrated into railway development plans and passenger amenity upgrades at the division level. Suggestions that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the zonal railway will be forwarded to the Railway Board and other concerned zones.

Following the General Manager’s address, the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager presented a detailed PowerPoint presentation showcasing the ongoing developmental activities in Prayagraj Division.

Subsequently, the Hon’ble Members of Parliament and representatives of other Hon'ble MPs placed their suggestions and demands. These primarily focused on public welfare matters, including new train services, train frequencies and stoppages, redevelopment of major stations, expansion of passenger amenities, enhancement of rail infrastructure and network capacity, safety, crowd management, station premises management, and the quality and maintenance of basic passenger amenities.

In this context, the Chairman of the meeting and Hon’ble MP from Aligarh, Shri Satish Kumar Gautam, demanded stoppages for Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Vande Bharat trains at Aligarh station, creating direct connectivity to Mathura by linking Medhu in Hathras, and setting up a vending zone on vacant station land.

Hon’ble MP from Rewa, Shri Janardan Mishra, raised demands for the development of Dabhaura station with new amenities, improving cleanliness in waiting halls and toilets, installing additional passenger sheds, and restoring discontinued train halts.

Hon’ble MP from Kanpur Nagar, Shri Ramesh Awasthi, emphasized safeguarding the interests of outsourced employees, introducing a new train between Kanpur and New Delhi under the name 'Kanpur Mail', and issuing ID cards to stall workers at stations for enhanced security. He also suggested increasing the stoppage time of the Vande Bharat Express and setting up a library at Kanpur station.

Hon’ble MP from Hathras, Shri Anoop Valmiki, stressed the need for installing escalators and upgrading cleanliness, alongside demanding stoppages for the Link Express, Udhampur Express, and Poorva Express.

Hon’ble MP Smt. Geeta Shakya requested constructing a Road Over Bridge (ROB) at Achhalda, a Road Under Bridge (RUB) at Kanchausi, and setting up baby feeding spaces for women at stations.

Hon’ble MP from Fatehpur, Shri Naresh Uttam Patel, requested increasing the stoppage time of trains at Fatehpur station from 2 minutes to 4 or 5 minutes, while also appreciating the development works being undertaken by the railways.

Dr. S.P. Singh Patel, representing Hon’ble Union Minister Smt. Anupriya Patel, demanded a stoppage for the Muri Express at Lusa station. Shri Vinay Kushwaha, representing Hon’ble MP from Allahabad constituency Shri Ujjwal Raman Singh, suggested an underpass at Kathauli, train stoppages at Karchhana and Bheerpur, the introduction of non-AC and AC parcel trains, and displaying station names using LED or radium signage.

The meeting was attended by Hon’ble MPs: Shri Anup Pradhan Balmiki, Shri Satish Kumar Gautam, Shri Jitendra Kumar Dohare, Shri Janardan Mishra, Shri Naresh Chandra Uttam Patel, Smt. Geeta Shakya, and Shri Ramesh Awasthi.

The following MP Representatives were also present: Shri Amar Nath Singh Maurya (Representative of Hon’ble MP Shri Devesh Shakya), Shri Pradeep Choudhary (Representative of Shri Pushpendra Saroj), Shri Sandeep Dwivedi (Representative of Shri Praveen Patel), Shri Anoop Mishra (Representative of Shri Mukesh Rajput), Shri Ram Narayan Batham (Representative of Smt. Dimple Yadav), Shri Vasudev Yadav and Dr. Man Singh Yadav (Representatives of Shri Akhilesh Yadav), Shri Gopal Yadav (Representative of Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav), Shri S.P. Singh Patel (Representative of Smt. Anupriya Patel), Shri Santosh Kumar (Representative of Smt. Krishna Devi Shivshankar Patel), Shri Vinay Kushwaha (Representative of Shri Ujjwal Raman Singh), Shri Ram Balak Patel (Representative of Shri Virendra Singh), Shri Kishan Gautam (Representative of Shri Hardeep Singh Puri), and Shri Rahul Jaiswal (Representative of Smt. Darshana Singh).

The meeting was conducted by Deputy General Manager/General, Shri Atul Mishra. Divisional Railway Manager Prayagraj, Shri Rajnish Agrawal, along with all Principal Heads of Departments of NCR Headquarters, Divisional Branch Officers, and other senior officials were present during the session.

Source - RSB