New Delhi, July 1: Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, during an interview, said that the country needs modern, safe and fast rail system instead of a bullet train. Sreedharan, an 86-year-old retired civil engineer, is popularly known as ‘Metro Man’. During an interview with Hindustan Times, Sreedharan said that he had been pushing for standardisation and indigenisation of metro service for long. According to him standardisation will reduce cost and will increase efficiency.

Speaking about the expansion of Delhi Metro, he said that Within 20 years, Delhi Metro had reached a size of 260 km and is the fastest growing metro in the world. The Metro Man added that Delhi Metro had set a standard and triggered a metro revolution in the country. He also felt that the metro should be converted into ‘make in India’ project. Sreedharan also criticised the government’s move to start bullet trains in the country. He said that ordinary people could not afford to travel by bullet trains.

The 86-year-old civil engineer said that he was not satisfied with the progress made by the Indian railways. He told Hindustan Times, “I do not agree that the Indian Railways has made rapid progress. Apart from bio-toilets, there is no technical enhancement. Speed has not increased.” Sreedharan further added that the railways is 20 years behind the advanced nations.

The ‘Metro Man’ expressed his disappointment with the progress of the country after 70 years of independence. He said that even after 70 years, one-third of our population lived below the poverty line. Slamming political leaders, Sreedharan questioned their intentions. He said that our leaders were led political ambitions and not by values and righteousness.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 01, 2018 01:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).