Hyderabad: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy attended as the chief guest at the annual meeting of MPs from Lok Sabha constituencies falling under the jurisdiction of the South Central Railway (SCR) on Thursday, where members raised issues relating to railway development, passenger amenities and safety.

The meeting discussed ongoing and proposed railway projects, modernisation of stations, construction of foot overbridges (FOBs), road under bridges (RUBs) and road over bridges (ROBs), besides the problems faced by commuters.

Malkajgiri MP Etala Rajender sought faster completion of railway works in his constituency and stressed the need for more FOBs and RUBs to prevent accidents involving people crossing railway tracks. He said around 1,000 people cross the tracks daily at Fatehnagar and claimed that 45 people had died in accidents there. He urged officials to construct a FOB at the location on priority.

Rajender said 24 RUBs and ROBs were being taken up in the Malkajgiri constituency and sought their early completion. He also requested an increase in MMTS services and stations in view of Hyderabad’s growing population.

He sought railway stations at Anand Bagh and Alwal-Venkatapuram and said the proposed MMTS extension to Yadadri would help commuters. He also urged the Centre to introduce special trains and sought a permanent solution to waterlogging at RUBs.

Mahbubnagar MP DK Aruna reviewed railway development works in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district and sought details on the status of proposals discussed during previous meetings. She urged officials to expedite sanctioned projects.

She also reviewed works at Amrit Bharat stations in Shadnagar, Jadcherla, Mahbubnagar and Gadwal and sought early completion of sanctioned works. Officials informed her that the second railway line at Gadwal had been sanctioned and work would begin soon.

Aruna also urged officials to examine the long-pending Gadwal-Macherla line and proposed Jadcherla-Miryalaguda and Vikarabad-Tandur railway lines.

MPs from across the SCR region raised several issues, while railway officials explained the status of projects and measures being taken for their early completion.