Udaipur MP Mannalal Rawat met the Union Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw on Thursday 25 July. During the meeting, the MP put forth numerous arguments pertaining to better rail connectivity for Udaipur, the city being a major tourist hub for India and now also on the MICE map after the G20 and Congress/BJP Political meetings here during the last 3-4 years.

With the initiation of Broad Gauge connectivity between Udaipur and Ahmedabad, the Mewar-Wagad region needs to have enhanced rail connectivity

MP Rawat discussed rail connectivity  enhancements for the Mewar - Wagad area, which includes the entire South Rajasthan. Apart from discussing  increased connectivity, he also put the demands of the  people of the region, on increasing the frequency and alternate routes for existing trains, specially between Udaipur and major cities, on the premise of Udaipur being a famed tourist hub, a globally renowned wedding destination and an upcoming MICE location. Railway Minister Vaishnaw assured MP Rawat that the Ministry will review the following requests and take necessary action where mandated.

• Increase in Railway tracks to facilitate more trains;
• Newer routes and connectivity;
• Extended Train  services that culminate at Ajmer, till  Udaipur;
• Connecting  Udaipur to South India, via Ahmedabad;
• Improvement of  public facilities  at the  Udaipur Railway Station;
• Booking Window at Jaisamand Road Station;
• Stoppage of high-speed trains at major stations of the region including Surkhankheda;
• Renovation of the  school in the Railway Training Institute at Udaipur.

MP Rawat took into account the following trains and routes for which enhancements were mandated:

• Increasing frequency of Udaipur-Rishikesh (19609/10) Train from thrice a week to daily;
• Extend Udaipur-Rishikesh Train till Dehradun and increasing the coaches;
• Regularise (Daily) Udaipur-Bandra Train (22902/01);
• Regularise (daily) Kota - Asarwa Express (19821/22);
• Extend Ajmer - Jammu Tawi (12413) till Udaipur;
• Extend Chandigarh - Ajmer (12983) till Udaipur;
• Extend Sarai Rohilla Delhi - Udaipur  (Chetak Express - 20474) till Dungarpur so that entire Mewar Wagad area is connected  directly to Delhi;
• Few changes to timings of the trains between Udaipur and Ahmedabad, so that connectivity synchronisation can be established  with trains operating from Ahmedabad to Gandhidham and Bhuj as well as south Indian cities such as Bangalore and Chennai;
• Morning train from Udaipur to Kota, specially for students;
• Direct train from Udaipur to Bandra/Mumbai via Ahmedabd (could save approximately 3-4 hours);
• Direct train  from Udaipur till  Jodhpur and Bikaner;
• Special train  from Nathdwara till Mumbai via Udaipur;
• Direct trains from Udaipur to Ayodhya/Kashi to facilitate religious tourism;
• Amend train fare from Express to Regular for train running between Udaipur to Madar, Chittorgarh and Ratlam.