Patna, Feb 21 (UNI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today said that north Bihar would soon become an 'industrial hub' as the railways had decided to set up factories at Marhaura and Sonepur which would accelerate the pace of development in the region.

After flagging off the Patna-Ahmadabad-Azimabad train from Rajendra Nagar Terminal, Mr Prasad said a rail engine factory would be set up at Marhaura while a wheel factory established at Naya village near Sonepur. A proposal to set up a coach factory in Sonepur had also been cleared by the railways, he added.

''The total cost to set up the various proposed factories in North Bihar will be about Rs 3002 crores,'' he stated.

Mr Prasad said construction work of three Maha Setus (Rail cum road overbridge) in Bihar was being carried out on a war footing and would be completed within the stipulated timeframe. He said a proposal to lay 1350 kms of new tracks had been approved in Bihar and survey was on to begin the work.

''Work is on for laying the 600 kms of railway tracks in various divisions of Bihar,'' he said.

''Gauge conversion of 712 km railway tracks in Bihar would be completed by 2009,'' he said adding there would be no metre gauge in the state after its completion.

UNI