New Delhi: Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav tonight (May 23, 2004) said his priority will be to regenerate people's confidence in Railways by assuring them safe travel.

"The most important thing is safety as in the past we have seen frequent rail accidents due to which people are scared of travelling by trains," he said.

Praising the work done by his predecessor Nitish Kumar in the context of Bihar, he said, "Definitely Nitish Kumar has made some contribution to the State and his work will be carried forward."

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About the rail fair increase in his budget, the new Railway Minister said, it was too early to say anything but assured that the interest if common man will be kept in mind while formulating the budget.

"As majority of the passengers travelling in the rail are poor or middle class people, we will keep their interest in mind while preparing the budget," he said.

He said corruption in awarding the contracts in railways and quality improvement in construction were some other issues in his agenda.