Railway Budget 2019: Semi high-speed trains, WiFi and safety to be top priorities for Indian Railway

Mangalore Today News Network

July 05, 2019: Railway Budget 2019: On 5 July 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the first Budget of the Modi government’s second term. The Railway Budget, which is now a part of the Union Budget will also be presented by her in the parliament. Earlier this year, the BJP Manifesto ’Sankalpit Bharat Sashakt Bharat’, had promised several things on the Indian Railways front, considering the fact that it is the lifeline of the country. Thus, several announcements were made for the national transporter including the introduction of faster trains, dedicated freight corridor, better passenger amenities, etc. Here are some of the key announcements that were made on the railways’ front:

The first engine-less semi high-speed train of India- Vande Bharat Express, manufactured under ’Make in India’ initiative was launched in February 2019 by PM Modi. Currently, work for the implementation of India’s first ever bullet train project, connecting Ahmedabad and Mumbai, is being carried out as well. The Modi government, in its second term, aims to expand the connectivity of Indian Railways and thereby, introduce various other high-speed trains as well as new version trains like the Vande Bharat Express in the next five years.

The Manifesto of Modi government promised to convert all viable railway tracks to broad gauge by the year 2022. The plan to convert all metre gauge tracks into broad gauge phase-wise was announced in 2017. The government is carrying out the track conversion work in order to enhance the convenience of passenger and the commercial viability of the national transporter.

The BJP in its Manifesto also stated to electrify all the tracks by 2022. Along with electrification, Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry also aims to reduce diesel consumption by around 2.8 billion litres. It has been said that the move will reduce the energy bill by around Rs 13,000 crore per annum by 2022. Moreover, the production of diesel locomotives has already been stopped by the railways and the old and existing diesel locomotives are being converted into electric ones.

The Modi government also announced to complete the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project by 2022. The DFC project, worth Rs 81,459 crore includes Eastern DFC and Western DFC. As per project details, the Western DFC covers a distance of 1,504 km, while the Eastern DFC covers 1,856 km in total. The project is being implemented by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFFCIL), under the Railway Ministry.

A massive program is also likely to be launched for the upgradation and modernization of railway stations. Over the last few months, Indian Railways has renovated several stations by equipping them passenger-friendly amenities and facilities. Some of the recently renovated stations include New Delhi railway station (NDLS), Haridwar Junction, Jaipur Junction, Mathura Junction, Valsad station, Adoni station, Lonavala station among others.

By 2022, all major railway stations across the country will be provided by free high-speed WiFi facility. So far, the CPSU- RailTel under the Railway Ministry has already provided free high-speed Wifi through its brand ‘RailWire’ to several stations. Additionally, the CPSU- RailTel and Tata Trust have collaborated for providing free WiFi service at as many as 4,791 B, C, D and E category railway stations.