New Delhi: Regarding the provisions made for the Indian Railways in the budget, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, in the last 10 years, the strategy for the development of Railways has been changed and emphasis has been laid on maximum investment, which will increase the capacity, modernize the Railways.
More attention has been paid towards safety and passenger amenities. This year, Rs 4 thousand 9 hundred 33 crore has been given to Punjab for railway development. During the tenure of Congress from 2009 to 2014, only Rs 225 crore was received.
In the last 10 years, 349 flyovers and underpasses have been built by the BJP government. Along with this, 26 stations have been developed under 1 product of 1 station. 100 percent electrification work has been completed in Punjab. The Railway Minister made it clear that his entire focus will be on the development of the country.
Giving information about Haryana, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that this time Rs 2 thousand 6 hundred 61 crore has been given to Haryana. 34 stations will be developed as Amrit stations. 30 stations have been made local for vocal.
Uttar Pradesh has received Rs 19 thousand 5 hundred 75 crore this year for railway development. Before this, during the UPA tenure from 2009 to 2014, only Rs 1,109 crore was received.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav further said that about 40 thousand general bogies will be converted into standard Vande Bharat bogies. This means that the old bogies in the trains which are currently being used will be replaced by the bogies which are used for Vande Bharat trains. Currently, only chair car trains are being run in Vande Bharat. It is expected that sleeper bogie Vachi Vande Bharat train will be started this year.
Currently, 44 Vande Bharat trains are being run in the country. The government’s focus is on using bogies with better facilities and increasing the speed of passenger trains. Along with this, the government has also announced the construction of 3 new rail corridors, which will include port connectivity, energy, mineral and cement corridors. Apart from this, there will also be a high density corridor. This will boost economic growth. Railway Corridor Program has been identified under PM Gati Shakti. This will increase and reduce the cost.