New trains for every state

Congress-ruled states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have got a large number of new trains or route or frequency extensions (see box); so have NDA-ruled states such as Bihar and Karnataka.

Among regional party-ruled states, West Bengal (Trinamool Congress) counts a total of 16 (seven new trains, seven extensions and a frequency increase in two trains). Tamil Nadu gets 19.

There will be 67 new mail/express trains and 26 new passenger trains. The individual shares may seem to add up to more but the the logic the railway ministry gave — as Mamata Banerjee had done during her time — is that the benefits of one train cannot be counted as exclusive to the state where it originates; the state where it terminates and the states it touches, too, must be counted.

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