Though a host of pro-public announcements made by her in the last Railway Budget (2010-11) has been implemented, Indian Railways' finances have gone from bad to worse.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, who backed Mamata Banerjee in the Singur agitation, on Friday warned the railway minister against acquiring land in eastern Uttar Pradesh for the corridor project, saying there would be a 'bloodbath' against the move.
Emerging from a meeting with Banerjee at the state secretariat, Yadav said that the first priority of his party was to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party's progress in West Bengal.
Senior railway officials feel this interest of the international community came after Banerjee unveiled policies to seek private investment in rail projects.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that her ministry would clear the backlog of two lakh vacancies countrywide within six months and the process was already on for class III posts.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya shared on Twitter what he said were the details of accidents under these ministers and added such 'worthies' are the ones demanding the resignation of the 'most qualified' railway minister the country has had in seven and half decades.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to present a populist Railway Budget on February 24, leaving passenger fares untouched but rationalising the freight rates keeping the essential commodities aside.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is often accused of being parochial -- she has, on many occasions, been blamed for being tilted in favour of her home state of West Bengal, at least as far as railway projects are concerned.
Reacting to RJD president Lalu Prasad's charge that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee was a "complex-ridden person",Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said it was actually the former union minister who is suffering from "phobias".
Indian Railways said it would rope in home-grown talent to develop world-class stations as foreign consultants were charging exorbitant fees.
"If you show us (threaten us with) ED, we will also send proof against BJP leaders to the agency. A section of BJP ministers and leaders is hand in glove with the coal mafia. They even stayed at hotels run by them during elections," she said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday termed the cancellation of over 25,000 school jobs as 'gross injustice' and alleged that it was a ploy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to stop these job losers from being deployed in poll duty.
Although a detailed blueprint is yet to be created, sources familiar with thedevelopments said companies would initially be roped in to augment the basic rail infrastructure in industrial areas such as mining zones.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday ordered an enquiry into the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station which claimed two lives and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
In the wake of the growing funding constraint for additional infrastructure creation in the railway sector, Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday held discussions with the industry on options to make private participation in the sector attractive. "Addressing the coordination gaps between the rail ministry and the industry is important to increase investments in rail projects. This is very urgent," Banerjee said.
Police said they began lathicharging and tear gassing after the agitators managed to breach the barricades at some locations and attacked the security personnel.
With strike by Air India executive pilots leading to cancellation of several flights, the railways are arranging special trains for stranded passengers.
Countering Communist Party of India-Marxist's allegations that she had made Railways bankrupt, she said, "Their government (in West Bengal) is bankrupt. It has Rs 2 lakh crore (Rs 2 trillion) debt. Charity begins at home."
Lok Janashakti Party chief Ramvilas Paswan on Sunday described West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as an "unpredictable" leader, who was humiliating the Railway Minister publicly apparently to slight the United Progressive Alliance government.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today ordered a departmental inquiry into the cancellation of stoppage of some trains at a station in Bihar, which sparked violent protests, and said halting of trains there will continue like in the past.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has ensured that her two junior ministers have an equal amount of work and equal responsibilities. She has entrusted them with seven states each. While Minister of State E Ahamed will look after Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Assam and Jharkhand, the other MoS K H Muniayappa has been allocated Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
If the finance ministry finally allows the railways to expand its list of goods exempted from the service tax ambit, instead of a complete rollback to the 10 per cent service tax imposed on frieght movement, it could come as a reprieve for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.
"No one is above party discipline. Dinesh Trivedi did not consult me or Mukul Roy (the party all India general secretary)," party insiders quoted Banerjee telling the Trinamool Congress legislature party meeting ahead of the budget session of the West Bengal legislative assembly.
In the face of criticism by the Opposition for her frequent absence from Delhi, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has defended her stay in Kolkata saying the national capital was not her home.
"The running of Bharat Teerth is to emphasise our unity in diversity and bring to reality Kabiguru's (Rabindranath Tagore) words in our national anthem Punjab Sindhu Gujarat Maratha, Dravida Utkala Banga, Vindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga," railway minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Mamata Banerjee's Railway Budget evoked mixed reactions. While corporate India welcomed the moves made by the railway minister, opposition political parties flayed the budget calling it a fantasy and opoortunistic. Read on...
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee should focus more on safety of passengers and development of infrastructure instead of launching new projects "every now and then", the CPI (M) said.
As yet another Rail budget is set to be unveiled, Railways has seen several former Ministers like Suresh Kalmadi and Dinesh Trivedi getting derailed after remaining at the helm.
The Congress core group met at the prime minister's residence late on Wednesday night and weighed options to deal with the demand made by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to sack Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi.
During the fag end of the year, she tabled a 'white paper' in Parliament on Railways financial health which dismissed her predecessor Lalu Prasad's claim of an impressive turnaround during his tenure.
Opposition parties in India have demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after a stampede at New Delhi railway station killed 18 people. They blamed the government for "gross mismanagement" and accused them of "covering up" the death toll. The stampede occurred on Saturday night as passengers rushed to board trains for the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj. The Congress, the Left, Trinamool Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have all criticized the government's handling of the situation, while BJP leaders have defended the government. The incident has highlighted the failure of the Railways and the government to make adequate arrangements for the large number of devotees travelling to Prayagraj.
Dismissing West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's criticism of Duronto Express, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said the importance and success of the train cannot be diminished.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee visited ailing Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu in a hospital in Kolkata on Saturday evening and said she was praying for the speedy recovery of the 95-year-old leader.
The Indian Railways on Wednesday said it suffered an estimated loss of Rs 13,675 crore (Rs 136.75 billion) in the current fiscal on account of various social service obligations, including suburban and non-suburban services.
Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee gave Singur, the erstwhile site for Tata Motors' Nano that made her popular, a miss.
Maoist attacks have led to 217 disruptions in the movement of trains as a result of which the Railways have suffered a loss of Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday set a goal of increasing non-core revenues to Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) in 2010-2011 from Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) through advertising and branding of railway properties.
The meeting took place in the backdrop of recent spat between West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Manas Bhuiyan and a number of TMC leaders on the Rajarhat land issue.
Union Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she would not contest the assembly elections in West Bengal and campaign for her party.
Although the CPI-M has emphasised that the railway panel's post is its top choice, Congress floor managers have already conveyed to the comrades that 'it will be difficult' to fulfil their dreams. The CPI-M is likely to get the chairman's seat in the Standing Committee on coal and steel or energy.
