From: hreddy@matrix.cs.wright.edu
Newsgroups: alt.culture.karnataka
Subject: Rajdhani Flag off postponed (TOI article)
Date: 8 Oct 92 22:02:39 GMT
Organization: Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science
Nntp-Posting-User: hreddy




   Here is the article I was referring to in my previous posting, It
is from the Times of India ,October 3 1992 edition and reproduced
here without permission.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

           New Rajadhani Express' Flagging off Postponed


The flagging of the much publicised Delhi-Bangalore Rajdhani express
tomorrow(actually this article is dated oct 1 and tomorrow refers to
oct 2) has been postponed following a controversy involving the four
southern states. While railway officials have cited "technical
snags" for the postponement ,the reasons apparently are more than
mechanical.

Last Thursday, the railway board made a two line announcement
postponing  the prestigious train indefinitely, without citing any reasons. The
weekly train scheduled to flag off from Bangalore on Gandhi Jayanti,
and the return run was set for October 4.

 Sources say the Tamilnadu chief minister, Ms Jayalalita, reportedly
wrote to the Prime Minister, Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao,protesting against
the "raw deal" meted out to her state.

 Ms Jayalalita is reported to have cited various reasons for her claim
that Tamilnadu should get first preferance for the super fast train from
the capital.A copy of her letter was also sent to the railway chief
minister, Mr C K Jaffer Sharief.

 While Rail Bhavan officials refused to comment on the Jayalalita letter,they 
did say that the project was delayed because of "political pressures"
from Various quarters.

FINAL BLOW: But the final blow came from the newly formed
organisation, called Delhi-Karnataka Sangharsh Samiti, which had
threatened a "Rajdhani roko" agitation on October 2, the flag off day
if the train was not renamed "Rajdhani-Cauvery Express".

 Earlier in March, after the announcement of the new train, a
delegation of Kerala MPs had met the railway minister and pleaded for
the train to be extended up to Thiruvananthapuram.

 Amid all this loobying, the railway board announced the schedule for
the train and Mr Sharief even unvieled the new rake to journalists in
Bangalore.But seeing the political fallout of the Jayalalita letter,
the board after consulting the minister, decided to postpone the flag
off indefinitely.However, railway officials here maintained that the
train was not scheduled for flag off on October 2 as that trial runs
were still on to reduce running time from 42 hours to 38 to 36
hours.Morever, officials said,technical aspects like track
strengthening and coordination between the various zones for smooth
operation, had to be worked out.

GENERATOR CARS: The issue of the number of cars(the other two
Rajdhanis,Delhi-Bombay and Delhi-Howrah have three generator cars
each) and the pantry contractor also had to be worked out.

 A Railway spokesman said the train would not be flagged off before
november, and until the "snags" were rectified. He added that the
ministry was actively considering Kerala's demand, and on its "agenda"
was a proposal for Delhi-Kirana(Thiruvananthapuram) superfast train.
Also under the ministry's active consideration was a proposal for a
new Rajdhani forr Madras.But these were mere proposals, the spokesman
maintained.

Sources say the political pressures from kerala and Tamilnadu were
also being viewed in light of the fact that every single detail for
the flag off had been worked out by the railways because the train for
Bangalore was via Secundrabad,the home states of both Mr Jaffer
Sharief and his deputy, Mr Mallikarjun.





======================================================================
			
G Hari K Reddy				standard disclaimers apply
Wright State University
Dayton,Ohio

hreddy@valhalla.wright.edu
Newsgroups: alt.culture.karnataka