New Delhi: Indian batting ace Sachin Tendulkar broke his silence in the Rajya Sabha as he asked his first question three years after being appointed to the upper house of Parliament.
According to reports, Tendulkar raised a question on the criteria for declaring suburban railway services as a separate zone. This was in reference to the marking of Kolkata Metro services as a new zone.
The question was asked in written form and so was the reply.
“Will the Minister of Railways be pleased to state the rationale behind creating a new zone for Kolkata Metro and whether it can be replicated in other cities such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi that also have similar suburban rail services; the criteria that a suburban railway system must fulfil to enable it to be notified as a separate zone; and whether the above three cities fulfil that criteria and are eligible for being notified as separate zones?,” Tendulkar’s query.
In the written reply from the railway ministry said, “After taking this into consideration along with operational, administrative and other factors, the zonal railway status was granted to Metro Railway, Kolkata to, inter-alia, help this organization in its operations and in further expansion. In the Indian Railway system operational in other cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, the suburban railway traffic is run along with the mainline traffic.”