Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has taken sharp aim at the Ministry of Railways for leaving the Kerala capital off a list of 48 major cities slated for infrastructure upgrades under Vision 2030.
In a formal letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Tharoor expressed his disbelief at what he called a "glaring omission", especially since the initiative specifically focuses on doubling the capacity for originating trains— a goal he argues is perfectly suited for a city of Thiruvananthapuram's stature.
Tharoor pointed out that excluding the city isn’t just a disappointment; it’s a massive administrative oversight. He reminded the Minister that Thiruvananthapuram is the headquarters of its own Railway Division, overseeing 625 route kilometers and serving as one of the six critical pillars of the Southern Railway. He called it "baffling" that a divisional headquarters would be ignored in a capacity-building project of this magnitude, particularly given the city’s role as a vital IT hub, a tourism gateway, and a strategic anchor for the southern tip of the subcontinent.
While Tharoor noted he was pleased to see Kochi made the cut, he described the absence of the state capital as an "anomaly" that needs immediate fixing. He argued that the logic of expanding rail infrastructure should be commensurate with the actual operational and administrative reality of a region. By leaving out the very city that manages the division under which these trains operate, the Ministry is overlooking the exact spot where demand and infrastructure are already concentrated. He closed the letter by urging the Minister to rectify the list to ensure the city gets the development its administrative status deserves.
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