The statement made by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on the floor of the Goa Legislative Assembly in response to BJP MLA Alina Saldanha that “there are twelve passenger trains and six to seven goods trains per day” is intentional to mislead the general public. This is a blatant lie as the time-table displayed at the Vasco railway station establishes the fact that in March 2020 (pre-pandemic) there were an average seven passenger trains (three express and four local). Of the four local, only two were reinstated on December 7, 2020, until January 31, 2021, with a rider “continuation would depend on passenger turnout and people’s response”. Under such circumstances, it is disheartening to note that the South Western Railway (SWR)/ Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) are yet to provide Village Action Committee Against Doubling of the South Western Railway Track with a study to justify the doubling of the existing single track through thickly populated areas of Salcette and Mormugao talukas which are lined with heritage structures most of which were built over 150 years ago. The statement by the CM that the ‘expected increase of passenger trains may be up to 90 with the double-tracking and passenger flow may vary between 54,000 and 65,000 per day from the current 6,000 to 7,000 per day” is totally laughable as the railway carriages are almost bereft of any passengers, with Cansaulim Railway Station earning an income of barely Rs 250 per day.
