<span style="color: #222222;">The Lok Sabha has taken up discussion on the Demand for Grants for Ministry of Railways 2019-20. Initiating the discussion, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress said, Railways is in a pathetic condition and termed the government's measures for improving amenities in the Railways as inadequate. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">He said the growth of the railways' revenue from its core business of running freight and passenger trains is declining. Mr Choudhary also accused the government of trying to privatise Railways.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' Sunil Kumar Singh of the BJP said NDA government has taken several unprecedented steps to improve the condition of Railways in the country and provide better facilities to the passengers. He said the NDA government has increased allocation for Railways in Jharkhand substantially.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Kanimozhi of DMK said, her party will oppose any attempt to privatise the India Railways.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />'' Sudip Bandyopadhyay of TMC  said the government should give utmost priority to improve the work culture of Railways. He said, more attention needs to be given to complete dedicated freight corridor projects. He added that base kitchen, cleanliness, food safety and quality should be given priority. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">N Reddeppa of YSRCP demanded the creation of more jobs in Railways and development of Chittoor railway station. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Ajay Bhatt of BJP accused the Congress-led UPA government of not fulfilling the commitments during its ten-year rule. He said the NDA government has worked on capacity enhancement, electrification of tracks and passenger safety. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">TDP's Ram Mohan Naidu demanded a special railway zone in Andhra Pradesh and metro rail projects for  Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. He also requested the government to introduce a train between Visakhapatnam and Varanasi. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">N K Premachandran of RSP stressed on the need for reduction in operating ratio to enhance the efficiency of railways. He also suggested the use of surplus land of railways. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Supriya Sule of NCP sought an assurance from the Minister of Railways that the Railways will not be privatised. She also spoke about passengers' safety. The discussion is underway.</span>