The railways ministry is considering a proposal to rename trains after well-known literary works, referencing not just their authors but the region they belongs to. As a result, passengers travelling to West Bengal may board a train named after a novel by Mahashweta Devi or a train to Bihar could reference a work by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, said a senior official.
The ministry is creating a bank of award winning literary works from across the nation to name trains. “The idea came from the minister (Suresh Prabhu) who said the railways is a secular integrating factor in the country and the names of the trains can be used to showcase varied cultural identities. So we will name trains on the works of the authors across languages and across regions,” said the official, reported Hindustan Times.
Preliminary work has already begun with a list of Sahitya Academy winning works being picked. “The minister feels that in India there are regional aspirations and regional affiliations that generate a lot of interest. It is an innovative way to commemorate these achievements. Also, it has great recall value for the younger generation,” said the official.
The decision to name trains lies with the ministry, but it needs to take permission for renaming stations. The names of several trains, stations, rail circuits and schemes were changed ever since the BJP-led NDA government came to power.
