Centre sticks to its stand on Kazipet coach factory

Despite the assurance as per the AP Reorganisation Act for a coach factory at Kazipet in 2014, the Union Government has been declining to fulfil the assurance.

Hyderabad: Sticking to its stand that setting up a coach factory at Kazipet was not feasible, Union Government announced that a Periodic Wagon Overhauling Workshop (POH) was being proposed at the same location in the State.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said foundation for the POH workshop at Kazipet would be laid soon. There was not much a difference between a Wagon factory and POH, he reportedly said while addressing media persons in New Delhi on Friday. An amount of Rs.160 crore has been allotted for the POH workshop at Kazipet.

Despite the assurance as per the AP Reorganisation Act for a coach factory at Kazipet in 2014, the Union Government has been declining to fulfil the assurance arguing that the existing capacity and planned augmentation of capacities in existing factories were sufficient to meet Railway requirements in the near future. Setting up a wagon factory was not feasible as there were many wagon factories in the country. On the contrary, there was demand for POH workshops, he said.

However, contrary to the minister’s statements that there were adequate wagon factories, the union government had set up a coach factory at Latur in Maharashtra in 2018. Despite its proposal being moved in April 2018, the Railway Board sanctioned it in August the same year.

Similarly, in April 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid foundation stone for upgrading the Railway workshop at Dahod in Gujarat into a locomotive production factory. It is the first Indian Railways locomotive production unit in Gujarat and the upgradation cost of Dahod workshop to the manufacturing unit is around Rs 20,000 crore.

“Telangana has been allocated Rs.4,418 crore to Telangana in this budget and many projects were being planned in the State. We are going to develop 39 railway stations in Telangana as world-class stations,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said. Emphasis was being laid on provision of good transportation facilities and under this initiative Railway under Bridges and underpasses were being planned, he said.