“With no new trains and no new railway lines announced, the Budget belied the sense of expectation nursed by many segments of the population”, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said in a statement, while commenting on today’s Railway Budget.

Pointing out that the Railway Budget had failed to meet the expectations of the people, she added that with the Railway Capital Expenditure expected to be stepped up substantially to Rs. 1.21 lakh crore, it was surprising that no specific projects were announced, including several projects in Tamil Nadu she had requested through her letter dated 11th February, 2016.

Stating that the Railway Budget for 2016-17 carried considerable weight of anticipation and apprehension, Jayalalithaa said the “Railway Minister seems to have been buffeted by the headwinds facing him in terms of the overall slowdown in the international economy and the possible impact of the 7th Pay Commission”.

She also had certain points that warranted appreciation. “I am happy that the Railway Minister has spared the common person and not levied any increase in the rail fares this year and put at rest some of the apprehensions on that score,” she has said in the statement.

“In terms of concrete announcements, I welcome the announcement of the first ever Rail Auto Hub to be set up at Chennai, which would cement Chennai’s position as a major automobile manufacturing centre not just in India but even internationally.”

Welcoming the detailed attention to enhancing passenger amenities, including issues relating to safety of women, providing greater accessibility to the differently-abled and senior citizens, Jayalalithaa said the measures to improve redressal mechanisms by introducing more digital modes including an entirely app-based mechanism also appeared to be positive measures.

Sounding a word of caution the CM pointed out that many such measures appeared to be contingent on various public-private partnership initiatives taking off. Further, many of the grievance redressal mechanisms appeared to be moving exclusively to digital platforms. The quality of service and grievance redressal to the person who may not be digitally literate nor own a smart phone should also be ensured and not confined to only those who were active on social media.

Thanking the Railway Minister for announcing the upgrading of the Railway Stations at the pilgrim centres of Nagapattinam and Velankanni, she urged that other important pilgrim centres in Tamil Nadu including Srirangam and Rameswaram stations too should be considered for upgrading.

Chennai, which possibly had the second most patronized suburban transit system after Mumbai, had no specific plans in the upgrading scheme, which was a major omission.

She sought speedy completion of the double lining of the entire stretch from Villupuram to Kanniyakumari, and the formulation of a National Railway Plan.

“I do hope that genuine consultation takes place with State Governments and our concerns are adequately addressed so that all parts of the country, including Tamil Nadu, can fully benefit from the Indian Railways, which is truly the infrastructure backbone of India,” the CM mentioned.