The railway minister Lalu Yadav has recently hinted that he is ready for rail network expansion. Following are excerpts from an Economic Times article about it. (Thanks to Rajesh Toppo for the pointer.)

Promising the next rail budget to be unprecedented and astonishing, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said its thrust will be on further expanding the network in the country.

“The next budget for the Railways will be unprecedented and astonishing. We want to further expand the network in the country and reach such people who have not yet got the opportunity to use its service,” Prasad said while addressing a gathering here after flagging off a new train between Motihari and Varanasi.

Describing the Railways as the country’s “lifeline”, he said, “Though India has the largest rail network in the world, we want to take it to the people who are not yet reached.”

From the above it seems Lalu is open to rail network expansion to hinterlands. But unless Orissa makes its demands in time, they may lose out on this.