Patna, Feb. 25: Nine new trains, including a Duranto express, assurance that the locomotive factories at Madhepura and Marhaura are very much on the cards, early competition of the 1,000MW Nabinagar thermal power plant and setting up of an anti-collision device in East Central Railway, which has its headquarters in Hajipur, are some of the major gains for Bihar in the rail budget of 2011-12.

The other gains for Bihar are setting up of multi-functional complexes at Gaya, Sasaram, Bhagalpur and Hajipur, completion of the Phulwari Sharif and Patliputra railway lines, completion of gauge conversion of Sitamarhi-Bairgania, Kaptanganj-Thawe and Katihar-Tejnarayanpur railway lines, completion of doubling of tracks between Taregna-Jehanabad and Begusarai-Khagaria stations, launching of gauge conversion work on Chauradano-Raxaul section, survey work for gauge conversion/doubling of track on Bhagalpur-Sahebganj and Mokama Ara sections.

Minister Mamata Banerjee also announced the railways’ plan for doubling of tracks between Bahagalpur and Pirpainti, and taking up the survey work for setting up new railway tracks between Bapudham Motihari and Riga and Simri Bakhtiyarpur-Bihariganj. Also, Samastipur and Danapur figured in the list of railway stations which would have mechanised laundries for improving the quality of linen in trains.

Though the list of gains might appear long, Bihar leaders were quick to dismiss them.

RJD leader Lalu Prasad, who is Mamata’s predecessor in the railway ministry, expressed disappointment. “It was frustrating. During my tenure as railway minister, I had removed the Marhaura and Madhepura rail projects from the PPP (public-private partnership) mode and put it as a 100 per cent railway project. But Mamata Banerjee has put them back in the PPP mode. I brought projects worth Rs 55,000 crore to Bihar. Nitish Kumar should have met the railway minister and urged her to complete the projects,” Lalu Prasad said.

Bihar business leaders, however, had a mixed opinion. “Though Mamata has not offered much to Bihar yet, no one should be complaining as she is just following the trend set by her predecessors who too used to give much to their native states,” Confederation of Indian Industry’s Bihar state council chairman, Satyajit Singh, told The Telegraph.

The Bihar Chamber of Commerce termed the budget a gross disappointment. Chamber president O.P. Sah said: “Bihar has been grossly neglected in the rail budget. It is silent on the fate of almost all rail projects of Bihar.”