Bhubaneswar/UNI: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has stressed on faster coal transportation to different ports and industries, along with power plants.

During his two-day long visit to Odisha, Vaishnaw reviewed the status of ongoing projects and traffic facility works in East Coast Railways (ECoR) jurisdiction.

He reviewed the progress of supercritical and public-centric railway projects in the state, including rail line connectivity to various mineral belts, ports, and industries.

The Union minister also reviewed the construction work for the redevelopment of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Puri Railway Station, which are in full swing, and the progress is beyond expectations, ECoR sources said.

On Wednesday evening, Vaishnaw inspected Puri Railway Station and took stock of the progress of the station redevelopment work. He instructed officials to speed up the construction work and complete the project within the target period.

He also visited Sri Jagannath temple and offered prayers to the trinity.

In the review meeting, Vaishnaw stressed that priority should be given to the rail line expansion of 40,000 kilometers of the proposed three freight corridors so that freight transportation will be speeded up without disrupting coach trains.

ECoR General Manager Manoj Sharma, all principal HODs of ECoR, including Chief Administrative Officer (Construction) P. Sreenivas and Divisional Railway Manager of Khurda Road Division H. S. Bajwa was present in the review meeting.