Land required for Railway infrastructure projects: Suresh Prabhu

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu today said land is required for any infrastructure project related to the railways.

"Whether for a sea port, airport or for the Railways, land is required. We need land for development of Railway infrastructure and for capacity expansion. But, getting land is becoming an important issue, which needs to be resolved by the Centre and the states jointly," he said at a news conference here.

In the dossier distributed by both the Eastern Railway and the South Eastern Railway to the media at an event here, it said many projects were not being able to be commissioned due to non-availability of land and required the help of the state government.

It also mentioned of encroachments on railway land, which was also thwarting development.

Prabhu said the problem of encroachment was serious.

"We need a joint action both by the Railways and the state for getting the land cleared," he said.