The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, had presented the Interim Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament yesterday, focusing on some beneficial measures for the Railways. Subsequently, the Union Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has lauded the allocation of Rs. 2,52,000 Crore for capital expenditure for the fiscal year 2024-25, emphasizing the government’s commitment to railway development.
In the Interim Union Budget 2024-25, an in-depth emphasis is placed on creating additional capacity through three corridors. The first involves Energy, Mineral, and Cement corridors, aiming to reduce road pollution and logistics costs. The second focuses on port connectivity, providing seamless connections to ports through railways in a multimodal ‘Gati Shakti’ approach. The third, ‘Amrit Chaturbhuj,’ akin to the golden quadrilateral on high-density traffic routes, aims to lay about 40,000 km of new track. This initiative is expected to significantly increase railway capacity, reduce pollution by saving up to 90% CO2 emissions, and contribute to the country’s economic transformation.
Reflecting on the Interim Union Budget, Mr Vaishnaw commented on the shift in focus over the past decade, acknowledging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s paradigm change. He highlighted the evolution from merely adding new trains to a comprehensive approach that prioritizes increasing capacity, integrating new technology, and emphasizing safety. Over the last ten years, significant achievements include the addition of 26,000 km of track, a safety system investment of Rs. 1,08,000 Crore, the initiation of the Automatic Train Protection system (Kavach), and the introduction of popular new-generation trains.
Addressing another major announcement, Mr Vaishnaw noted that the success of ‘Vande Bharat’ and ‘Amrit Bharat’ trains allows for the upgrade of all 40,000 conventional coaches. The effort to increase capacity is multi-faceted, with the addition of 5,200 km of new tracks last year, equivalent to the entire rail network of Switzerland. This year, 5,500 km of new tracks are planned, marking a substantial increase from 4 km per day in 2014 to about 15 km per day currently. The capital investment projected in the budget is Rs. 2,52,000 Crore for 2024-25. Notably, 82% of the capital expenditure budget for the current year has already been achieved by the end of January 2024.
Mr Vaishnaw underscored the clear focus on increasing capacity, enhancing passenger experience, and infrastructure development. He highlighted Prime Minister Modi’s unwavering focus on railways, asserting that the completion of the three corridors would address the waiting list problem. Prime Minister Narendra Modi commended the Interim Budget as an inclusive and innovative one, instilling confidence in continuity. He highlighted the announcement to manufacture 40,000 modern ‘Vande Bharat Standard’ coaches, enhancing the travel experience for millions of passengers across different railway routes.
As part of the ‘Amrit Kaal’ strategy, three major economic railway corridor programs have been identified under the PM Gati Shakti initiative. These programs aim to enable multi-modal connectivity, improve logistics efficiency, reduce costs, and decongest high-traffic corridors. The resultant improvement in passenger train operations is expected to enhance safety and travel speed. Coupled with improvements on freight corridors, these economic corridor programs are poised to accelerate GDP growth and reduce logistic costs, contributing to the holistic development of the railway sector.