The Railway Ministry has written to the Tamil Nadu Government to explore the possibility of redevelopment of railway stations in the State, through a joint venture, Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu said today.

Sixteen states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka and Kerala, have agreed for a JV with the Railways for creating more infrastructure facility, Prabhu told reporters here.

“If Tamil Nadu also agrees, it will help us expedite the process for more infrastructure for the State,” he added.

“We have written a letter to Chief Minister to explore the possibility of redevelopment of the railway stations in Tamil Nadu, which will become iconic, can earn revenue, through a JV. There can be many opportunities, in addition to what we are already doing,” Prabhu said.

On the Kashmir situation, the Minister said Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was working on the development of Kashmir. “Jammu and Kashmir is most important part of India,” he said and hoped that peace would return soon.

Later in an interactive session at the Leadership Summit ‘Making the Difference’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Prabhu said that the share of the freight for Railways had dwindled by 50 per cent from 98 per cent, a few decades ago.

“With coal being major freight earner, nearly 50 per cent, the Ministry is negotiating with various sectors, such as steel industry for the transportation, even as the freight charges have been reduced to attract more cargo,” he said.

Moreover, he said that lesser investments compared to road, also taken the toll of freight revenue for railways, Prabhu said.