Indian Railways plans to invest ₹1 lakh crore over the next several years to buy new trains, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told The Economic Times. According to him, this is a result of the increasing demand in the passenger transport industry.
The minister further said that this is a part of a larger renovation that aims to boost the number of trains as well as the number of them available for travel carrying goods and services.
“The objective is to replace the old rolling stock, which will require 7,000-8,000 new train sets. In the coming four to five years, tenders will be called for this. To replace the old rolling stock, floating train procurement tenders will be floated,” according to Vaishnav. , worth approximately ₹1 lakh crore, will be completed during the next 15 years.
Furthermore, Vaishnav said the Railways has already utilized 70% of its ₹2.4 lakh crore budget for FY24 and the track laying project is progressing as per schedule. Said, “We will need an investment of about ₹12 lakh crore in Indian Railways to meet the current level of economic growth by 2030.”
To take advantage of the existing railway infrastructure, the proposed train acquisition will include maintenance contracts and special requirements demanding its construction within India.
Developing Infrastructure for Railways
He also outlined significant changes in structure and processes that accelerated capital investment in the railways. The capital budget is designated for a major renovation that will include improvements to critical infrastructure such as trains, tracks, safety technologies and stops.
With regard to specific projects, the Minister said Gati Shakti cargo terminals will be streamlined and new industrial hubs will be opened with the completion of the 1337 km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor has also been completed by about 80%.
Vaishnav claims that during the current financial year, 5,000-6,000 km of rail has been constructed, with an average of 16 km of work every day. This is an increase compared to 5,243 km of rail installed in FY2013, which averaged 14 km per day.
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Getting Rid of Waitlists
Currently operating 10,754 trains per day, Indian Railways is looking to add 3,000 more trains to eliminate waiting queues completely. “To address the issue of waiting list across passenger categories, except in high-demand months, we aim to increase journeys by 30 per cent by the end of this decade,” Vaishnav said.
With 568 more trips than in pre-Covid years, the national transporter can now handle 700 crore people per year. It is estimated that by 2030 this number will increase to 1,000 crore annual passengers.
