New Delhi: Indian Railways will play a transformative role in spearheading development and making India a $5 trillion economy, observed Dr. K Laxman, Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways at the 11th PHDCCI Global Rail Convention held at PHD House.
The Theme of The convention was oorganised on the theme: Indian Railways – Journey towards Viksit Bharat through Innovation, Infrastructure, Investment and Industry Partnership.
While mentioning that Indian Railways has achieved 94% electrification, Dr Laxman highlighted ambitious projects like Mumbai Bullet Trains, 4,000 Vande Bharat trains by 2047, and the allocation of Rs 10-12 lakh crore for railway infrastructure in the next five years.
The present government is allocating sizeable budgets for the Railways leading to its immense growth from technology advancement to sustainability and indigenization.
In the last budget, almost Rs 9,000 crore was allocated to Andhra Pradesh and Rs 5,000 crore to Telangana. Many railway stations are being developed on par with international airport standards in Hyderabad. For example, in Secunderabad, a railway station is being built with an investment of over Rs 750 crore. The work done on Tirupati Railway Station was also appreciated.
The AI-driven smart railway system and the Kavach system to prevent collisions are being implemented, with almost 44,000 km of tracks being laid. “At this pace, almost 3,000 million tons of cargo can be transported by 2040, and we will become a global leader in the railway sector. All of this will significantly contribute to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat,” he predicted.
Chair, PHDCCI Railways Committee and former CRB, Arunendra Kumar stated, that Viksit Bharat is a mission in which railways have a defined role. Indian Railways has opened up significantly in the last 10 years and with technology innovation, the new design of Vande Bharat trains, Kashmir connectivity, and hydrogen fuel trains are a recent example of this.
He emphasized the need for finding ways to ensure passengers get confirmation, increase passenger capacity by 30%, and make railway stations hubs of multimodal connectivity.
Notably,the first electric train ran on February 3, 1995. In the next 2-3 months, target of 100% electrification will be achieved. With this, India will become the first country, apart from Switzerland (which is much smaller), to achieve this distinction.
