The meeting of Members of Parliament with the General Manager concluded at Jabalpur Railway Division.

CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: A significant meeting of Members of Parliament from the Jabalpur Railway Division was held with West Central Railway’s General Manager, Shobhana Bandyopadhyay, to discuss passenger amenities and the development and expansion of railway facilities. The MPs present at the meeting appreciated the numerous initiatives taken to improve passenger services in recent years. Attendees included MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla), Ganesh Singh (Satna), Ashish Dubey (Jabalpur), Darshan Singh Chaudhary (Narmadapuram), Lata Wankhede (Sagar), Rahul Singh Lodhi (Damoh), Rajesh Mishra (Sidhi), and Rajya Sabha MP Sumitra Balmiki. Other MPs sent their suggestions through representatives.

During the meeting, Divisional Railway Manager Vivek Sheel provided an overview of ongoing development projects in the division through a PowerPoint presentation. General Manager Shobhana Bandyopadhyay warmly welcomed all the MPs and, in her opening address, emphasized the importance of the guidance and valuable suggestions provided by the MPs in such meetings. She highlighted that the rail administration is committed to providing better services to both passengers and freight customers.

The General Manager mentioned that during 2024, 17 significant projects in the West Central Railway, including the Katni-Bina third line, Gati Shakti Multimodal Cargo Terminal, Itarsi grade separator, Powarkheda-Jujharpur flyover, Barkheda-Budni-Itarsi third line, and the Ramganj Mandi-Bhopal new railway line, were inaugurated or had foundation stones laid by the Prime Minister. Furthermore, under the “Amrit Bharat Station” scheme, a total of 53 stations across the West Central Railway, including 15 from the Jabalpur Division, are set for upgrades. These stations include Katni, Maihar, Damoh, Kareli, Byohari, Rewa, Sagar, Narsinghpur, Pipariya, Gadarwara, Katni Murwara, Sihora, Shridham, Katni South, and Bargawan.

MPs provided various suggestions, such as Faggan Singh Kulaste recommending timely completion of ongoing railway infrastructure projects, while Ashish Dubey suggested restarting trains discontinued after the pandemic. Ganesh Singh advocated for improved cleanliness at stations, female security personnel on trains, and a direct train from Satna to Ayodhya. Darshan Singh Chaudhary emphasized the need to increase the number of general and sleeper coaches on passenger trains, and Sumitra Balmiki proposed new trains from Jabalpur to Pune and Hyderabad, along with the expansion of the “Meri Saheli” and “Nanne Farishte” initiatives for women’s safety.

The meeting was attended by senior railway officials, including Principal Chief Operations Manager Gurinder Mohan Singh, Principal Chief Engineer Ashutosh, Senior Deputy General Manager Neeraj Kumar, and Chief Administrative Officer (Construction) M.S. Hashmi. The meeting was coordinated by Deputy General Manager (General) Anurag Pandey.