Railways to spend Rs 10,000 crore on tech, renewal of tracks

New Delhi: Asserting that the Modi government is working to-wards a “zero accident level”, railways minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday informed Parliament about the various measures in this regard, including renewal of tracks, train protection warning system and eliminate all unmanned level crossings across the country. Incidentally, the Delhi-bound Mahakaushal Express derailed due to rail fracture near Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, resulting in injuries to at least 52 people.

Replying to a debate on Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2017, and working of his ministry, in Rajya Sabha, Mr Prabhu also said that efforts are on to make railways more environment friendly and transparency in all commercial decisions. Earlier, members voiced concern over the safety of the railways and raised questions over upgradation of its infrastructure. In order to improve the profitability of railways, Mr Prabhu said the government is trying to maximise revenues from fares as well as non-fare methods besides reducing the cost of operations.

While asserting that the rate of train accidents in India has come down, as per the “global index”, the minister said, “It does not mean I am happy with this. We would like to work towards zero accident.”

Announcing that the ministry will spend about Rs 10,000 crore for renewal of tracks, Mr Prabhu said the government is trying to maximise revenues from fares as well as non-fare methods, besides reducing the cost of operations, to improve profitability.

He also said that the government plans to save Rs 41,000 crore in energy bill in the next 10 years by using wind power.

Referring to the recent train mishap in Kanpur which is being probed by the NIA, he expressed concern about the “cause of the accident”. He also said that the government plans to save Rs 41,000 crore in energy bill in the next 10 years by using wind power besides energy mix, use of LED bulbs, waste to energy plant.

As part of the railway safety measure, the government is changing rolling stock and making sure that tracks are properly renewed. New technologies like ultra sonic detection system, train protection warning system, train collision avoidance system, use of strong couplings will be used to check accidents due to human error.

The minister said expansion of rail track through doubling and tripling is necessary as currently 16 per cent of the track is catering to the 60 per cent of the traffic, as a result of which major trunk routes are saturated. Raising the issue of paucity of space at stations for accommodating the increasing number of trains, Mr Prabhu wondered whether rail tracks could be constructed beneath and above the existing ones to de-congest the platforms.

Highlighting decline in investment in the railways and increase in the road sector over the years, he said “The government has decided to go for more investment in the rail sector. Railways has earmarked Rs 8.5 lakh crore for the five years.”