Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw discussed the significant allocation for the Railway Ministry in the General Budget 2024 in a virtual interaction with media persons from Northeast.
The Minister announced a record capital investment of Rs 2.62 lakh crores for the Railways, with Rs 1.08 lakh crores dedicated to safety-related activities. This includes the replacement of old tracks, improvement of signalling systems, installation of the Kavach system, and construction of Road Under Bridges (RUBs) and Road Over Bridges (ROBs) to replace existing level crossing gates.
Vaishnaw highlighted the budget's focus on introducing new rolling stock such as Amrit Bharat Trains, Vande Metro, and Vande Bharat Sleeper trains. The budget prioritizes passenger safety, comfort, capacity augmentation, and infrastructure improvement. The advanced Kavach 4.0 system, a comprehensive safety mechanism combining hardware, software, optical fiber, telecom towers, on-track systems, stations, and data centre administration, has recently been approved and will be installed rapidly.
Responding to the rising demand for general coaches, the Railways will manufacture 2,500 general coaches this fiscal year, with an additional 10,000 general coaches planned.
For the Northeastern Frontier Railway (NFR), the Gross Budget Allocation for FY 2024-25 is Rs 14,183.69 crores. Of this, Rs 10,376 crores is allocated specifically for Northeastern states, nearly five times the average allocation of Rs 2,122 crores during 2009-14.
During the interaction, the General Manager of NF Railway announced that 921 Route Kilometers (RKM) were electrified in 2023-24, with a target of 1,573 RKM for 2024-25, aiming to complete the electrification of all northeastern states. Rs 694.69 crores have been allocated for electrification works over NF Railway.
The budget allocation marks unprecedented growth for NF Railway, with Rs 8,378.53 crores for new line and doubling projects, Rs 1,305.07 crores for track renewal and bridge works, and Rs 170 crores for signalling and telecom works. Additionally, Rs 537 crores have been allocated to improve passenger amenities at station premises. A total of 18 railway infrastructure projects, covering 1,368 km and involving an investment of Rs 74,972 crores, are currently underway in the northeastern region.
Under the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme, 60 stations of NF Railway will be redeveloped with world-class facilities, including 50 in Assam, four in Tripura, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim. Since 2014, a record 470 ROBs/RUBs have been constructed over NF Railway, replacing existing level crossing gates to enhance safety.
The budget emphasizes transforming the overall infrastructure of Indian Railways, with a particular focus on the Northeast region. These record allocations are expected to significantly boost connectivity and contribute to the development of northeastern states.
