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Monday, January 07, 2019

Some Good Developments in the Railways..

The NDA government spent the past four years on long-term infrastructure building in railways. Laying of second, third, and fourth lines on busy routes to enhance network capacity, and bringing in Northeast connectivity through broad-gauge conversion have been priorities. Electrifying routes also got a major thrust. For all this, the Railways for the first time opened itself up to borrowing funds from outside.

So, if during UPA-II, the Railways could spend Rs 2.3 lakh crore on capital works, the present government has so far spent Rs 3.82 lakh crore on infrastructure creation. If 7,600 km of broad gauge lines were opened for use in UPA-II, around 9,500 km has been commissioned between 2014 and March 2018. Replacement and maintenance of old tracks — even if at the cost of efficient mobility — has taken a front seat.

After a string of accidents and heavy casualties since 2014, the year 2017-18 saw the number of accidents falling to 73 — the least ever. The Finance Ministry, too, loosened its purse strings. The Gross Budgetary Support for the current year is Rs 55,000 crore. This is also because the NDA government has done away with a separate Railway Budget.

Customer service has undergone a major change. The Railways has built a robust customer-interface ecosystem across social media platforms. Real-time complaint redressal is now just a message away. Instances of people getting diapers or medical help delivered on moving trains with just a tweet are part of this success story. Since Goyal and Ashwani Lohani, Chairman of Railway Board, took over eight months ago, several priority projects have shaken off bureaucratic sloth. One of them is the Railway University project. After three years of being on files, it will finally start in August.

The induction of modern, engine-less train sets, the first proper rolling stock upgrade since the LHB coaches in India, will happen later this year. Total conversion to LHB from conventional coaches has picked up pace. More stations are getting free WiFi coverage. Modi has asked Railways to review its 100 per cent electrification process, and the yearly target is being actively pursued.

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