Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has requested the Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu to restart the modern rail bus service in Mathura-Vrindavan on apriority basis so that tourism facilities at these places may be made world class and the traffic problem could be sorted out.

He also requested that the railway station and vacant railway land be developed on lines of the religious and mythological background of Mathura-Vrindavan. In his letter tothe Railway Minister, Mr. Yadav has pointed out that the rail bus service was prevalent in the area for many years but at present has been stopped due to some glitches in the rail bus engine and poor track.

This, he added, was affecting the tourism and public services in the region. Underlining the significance of Mathura-Vrindavan, the Chief Minister has said that other than being a prominent religious place, it attracts a large number of tourists round-the-year.

Major draws here are the Shri Krishna birth place, Dwarka Dheesh temple and the Shri BankeBihari temple which are situated in narrow lanes. In the past, the rail bus service used to connect these places and also take care of the traffic problems.

Mr. Yadav has also mentioned in his letter that the service was very important in this Heritage city. The local residents have also been demanding this for a long time. The Chief Minister also expressed hope that owing to the above mentioned points, the railway ministry would take a prompt decision with regards to restarting the rail-bus service in Mathura-Vrindavan on much better scale.