Indian Railways is taking baby steps toward its aim of eradicating the waiting list by the end of this decade.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told ET that Indian Railways is set to invest Rs. 1 lakh crore in acquiring new trains in upcoming years. This decision has come up in response to growing demand in the passenger travel sector.
The aim is to replace aging rolling stock, necessitating 7000-8000 new train coaches.
Mr. Vaishnaw further said that the tender for this procurement costing around Rs. 1 lakh crore will be equipped over the next 4-5 years and fulfilled over 15 years.
Further, Mr. Vaishnaw said, for FY24 70 percent of the Rs.2.4 lakh crore budget has already been utilized. He accentuated the progress in the track-laying project stating that an investment of nearly Rs.12 lakh crore in the Indian Railways will be obligatory to accommodate the expected economic growth by 2030.
Maintenance contracts and specific conditions decreeing production within India will be included in the procurement of new trains.
Zero Waiting List Plan
Currently, the Indian Railways annual passenger carrying record is 700 crores where 10,754 daily train runs. From 700 crores passengers annually it is expected to surge to 1,000 crore passengers by 2030.
Indian Railway is planning to add 3000 more trips to bring down the waiting list to zero.
The minister added there needs to be a 30% surge in several trips to get rid of the issue of waiting lists in the passenger category- except during peak demand months.
Also Read: 7 Most Magnificent Railway Stations of India. Live Travelling
Multi-Tracking of Seven High-Density Corridors
Times of India had earlier reported that Indian Railways has proposed a huge plan that costs around Rs. 4.2 lakh crore, targeting the multi-tracking of seven high-density corridors, including Delhi-Howrah, Mumbai-Howrah, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Guwahati, Delhi-Chennai, Howrah-Chennai, and Mumbai-Chennai.
From 2024-25 to 2034-35 spanning the 10-year program aspire to enhance capacity by doubling and adding third and fourth lines based on traffic demands.
The plan includes the construction of flyovers and underpasses. This action addresses the overcrowding on these corridors, which despite comprising only 16% of the total Indian Railways network at 10,969 km, handles 41% of the traffic.
For online train ticket booking visit: https://www.irctc.co.in/