Indian Railways, which is in fourth place in development across the globe, after the US, China and Russia, is expected to be in top position very soon. Around ₹2.4 lakh crore has been allocated for upgrading facilities in railways in the last nine years, said Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy.
In all, 1,309 old railway stations, constructed during the British rule, will be developed under Amrit Bharat Scheme across the country. As of now, seven out of eight States were provided rail connectivity in North Eastern Region, and stage is set to provide rail facility to Sikkim by the end of this year, the Union Minister said.
Under Amrit Bharat Scheme, the railway stations will be equipped with escalators, lifts, modern platforms, solar energy system, restaurants, e-ticketing, road connectivity and good infrastructure for the convenience of the passengers, the Union Minister said.
400 Bharat Gaurav trains
Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, Mr. Kishan Reddy said around 3,200 coaches were reserved for operating Bharat Gaurav Special trains covering 26 tourist circuits and 40 tourism plans. Plans are afoot to run 400 Bharat Gaurav trains in the coming days, he said.
Indian Railways has constructed 1,654 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and 9,123 Road Under Bridges (RUBs). Besides, ₹8,000 crore has been sanctioned to construct 1,863 ROBs and 2,490 RUBs, to remove more unmanned level crossings.
To improve safety and prevent collision of trains, Kavach (automatic protection system) was planned to be introduced in Indian Railways, estimated at a cost of ₹30,000 crore. Kavach was provided to 139 locomotives and 1,465 kms on a trial basis, he said.
1,200 passenger trains
From 2014 to 2023, 5,750 kms length tracks were converted to broad gauge and electrification was done with ₹38,650 crore. A total of 231 new projects have been sanctioned for doubling of a track at a length of 20,296 kms.
“Earlier, the amount sanctioned for railway budget used to be spend for development of railways. But, the Centre was providing infrastructure, connectivity, digitalisation, security, dedicated freight corridors and passenger amenities with in addition to the funds allocated in the railway budget,” Mr. Kishan Reddy said.
“Every day, two crore passengers are travelling on 1,200 passenger trains in India, and 150 crore tonnes of cargo is being transported. In the last nine years, the BJP government has provided 4.9 lakh jobs in railways and more employment would be created in the next few years,” the Union Tourism Minister said.
Special trains to Ayodhya
Railway officials are planning to operate special trains for the grand opening of Sri Ram Mandir at Ayodhya on January 22. “Many special trains were planned from Vijayawada, Guntur, Hyderabad and other stations on January 22,” Mr. Kishan Reddy said.
As part of One Station One Product (OSOP), 1,083 outlets were set up in the railway stations highlighting the handicrafts, forest and weavers products of the local artisans, the Minister added.
Divisional Railway Manager Narendra A. Patil, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager V. Rambabu and other officers participated in the press conference.
