Title - Railway budget on the horizon: Kerala waits with bated breath

With barely a month left for the announcement of the railway budget 2013-14,  questions are being raised about the failure of the railways to prioritise the needs of the state.

The railway passengers’ associations allege that a failure to convene the annual meeting of the top brass of the railways and the MPs of the state point at the step-motherly attitude of the railways towards Kerala.

The railways had convened meetings with MPs from Tamil Nadu in November 2012.

Western India Passengers’ Association secretary Thomas Simon, who had raised a  demand for more trains in the state, said that while Tamil Nadu got 29 pairs of trains in the past one year, Kerala was able to receive only  two weekly trains.

Meanwhile, a meeting between the MPs and the railway officials is scheduled to be held on January 28. “With just one month left for the presentation of the railway budget, the railways are never going to