Delhi government attitude stalls Ring Rail

New Delhi: The lackadaisical attitude of the Delhi government has stalled the ambitious plan for reviving the Ring Railway. Revival of the Ring Railway was a major announcement in last year’s rail budget presented by Minister Suresh Prabhu. Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai had met Mr Prabhu, seeking to establish a robust rail network for the city to decongest roads.

Ring Railway, which is popularly known as ‘Ring Rail,’ was made functional in 1975 and upgraded during the 1982 Asian Games held in the national capital. The circular route of the Delhi suburban railway is 35 km long and it takes 90–120 minutes to complete the full journey. Built along the Ring Road and Outer Ring Road, it caters to areas like Safadrjung, Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, Chanakyapuri, Naraina and Azadpur among others.

For its revival, it was proposed to form a joint action committee comprising officers of railways and Delhi government to oversee the work. However, no committee has been formed so far. Interestingly, the AAP government in Delhi has been pushing for revival of the ring rail network and proposed to form a committee for the same.

Railway officials said to develop the suburban railway, onus is on the AAP government.