Kolkata:

The Kanchanjunga Express was travelling from Agartala in Tripura to Sealdah in Kolkata when a goods train hit it from behind near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri Monday morning, resulting in the deaths of nine people and injuries to 41. Preliminary findings point to a combination of human error and signal failure as contributing factors.

The Railway Board’s initial report on Monday revealed that the goods train, operating under a defective automatic signalling system, was travelling above speed limits when it crashed into the Kanchanjunga Express. The railways have not commented on this issue.

When the automated system fails, railway protocol mandates a written authority known as TA 912. This document authorises train drivers to pass all red signals due to the signalling defect, provided they adhere to stringent safety measures. Both the Kanchanjunga Express and the goods train had been issued TA 912 (pictured below).

According to railway procedures, under TA 912, drivers must stop for one minute at each defective signal and proceed at a maximum speed of 10 kmph. Additionally, they must maintain a 150-metre gap from the preceding train to ensure adequate stopping distance if the previous train has not cleared the signal. However, in this incident, the goods train driver violated these critical conditions.

The Kanchanjunga Express had cleared nine automatic signals with TA 912 and had stopped after crossing the nine signals awaiting fresh clearance to proceed further.

Authorisation To Cross Red Signals

The Railway Board said that the driver of the goods train had been authorised to cross all red signals between Rangapani and Chattarhat railway stations due to the defective automatic signalling system. However, the train’s speed exceeded the permissible limit set for such situations. The goods train driver was given a TA 912, by the station master of Rangapani, permitting the train to pass nine red signals. This authorisation was crucial because the automatic signalling system had been malfunctioning since 5:50 am on the day of the accident.

The goods train, GFCJ, departed from Rangapani at 8:42 am and collided with the stationary Kanchanjunga Express at 8:55 am. The impact resulted in the derailment of the guard’s coach, two parcel coaches, and a general seating coach of the passenger train. The driver of the goods train, who was among the dead, was found to have not followed the mandatory speed restrictions, leading to the crash.

The driver of the Kanchanjunga Express adhered to the safety norms required during a signalling defect. He stopped at all red signals for one minute and proceeded at a speed of 10 kmph. In contrast, the goods train’s driver proceeded at higher than permissible limits and rammed the passenger train.

Automatic Signalling System Failure

The TA 912 authority letter mentioned that the automatic signalling system had failed and authorised the driver to pass all automatic signals between Rangapani and Chattarhat, regardless of whether they were red or caution signals. The Railway Board said that under normal circumstances, a train encountering a red signal should stop for one minute during the day and two minutes at night, proceeding with extreme caution at speed not exceeding 15 kmph in good visibility conditions and 10 kmph in poor visibility.

Despite these regulations, the goods train exceeded the permissible speed, leading to the catastrophic collision. The exact speed at which the goods train was travelling has not been disclosed by the Railway Board.

Rescue operations concluded by late afternoon, but efforts to clear the derailed coaches and restore rail services continued. The North Bengal Medical College and Hospital treated several injured passengers, with 41 remaining hospitalized, including nine in critical condition.

Official Response

The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) initiated a probe into the cause of the accident. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the site, overseeing relief operations and announcing compensation for the victims’ families. Rs 10 lakh will be provided to the families of those who died, Rs 2.5 lakh to the grievously injured, and Rs 50,000 to those with minor injuries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the victims and prayed for the recovery of those who were injured. 

“The railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to officials and took stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway to assist the affected. The Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji is on the way to the site of the mishap as well,” PM Modi posted on X. 

The railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to officials and took stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway to assist the affected. The Railways Minister Shri…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 17, 2024

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the Railway Ministry for neglecting passenger safety and failing to implement the anti-collision system effectively. She alleged that the railways focused more on fare hikes than improving safety measures. 

“The railways have become totally parentless. Though the ministry is there, the old glory is missing. Only beautification is being done, but they do not care about passenger amenities. They are only keen on hiking fares,” she said. “You will only see them talk big. They also do not take care of the railway officers, technical, safety, and security personnel. I am with the railway employees and officers.” 

Governor CV Ananda Bose urged the prioritisation of treating the victims rather than engaging in blame games.

New Delhi:

The Bengal train accident that took place this morning, heralded the return of a wrathful Opposition, fresh from its massively improved performance in the recently concluded general election. From former railway ministers Lalu Yadav and Mamata Banerjee to various leaders in the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, social media platforms have been full of angry accusations, demanding that the government take responsibility for the deaths of nine people and injuries to 50 others. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tried to stem the tide, saying this is “not the time for politics”.

Three coaches of Kolkata-bound Kanchanjunga Express derailed early this morning when a goods train slammed it from behind near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri. The casualties would have been higher had the parcel coach and the guard’s coach not been at the rear.

In the afternoon, Mr Vaishnaw reached the spot. “Rescue operation is over, our focus in now on restoration. This is not the time for politics,” he said, responding to questions on Opposition criticism.  

“This government is only interested in elections.. How to go for hacking… how to go for manipulation… They do not take care of amenities… bathrooms are dirty and there are dirty things in bedding… They do not take care of the railway staff,” said Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shortly after.

Ms Banerjee handled the railway portfolio from 2009 to 2011 during the second term of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. She had also held the ministry for less than two years in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The first off the block, though, was Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Yadav, who handled the railway portfolio during the first term of the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh. “Who is responsible for the continuous railway accidents in the country?”  read his post on X, formerly Twitter.

The Congress attack was spearheaded by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who accused the BJP-led government of indulging in “utter mismanagement of the Railway Ministry”.

“As a responsible Opposition, it is our bounden duty to underline how the Modi Govt has systematically converted the Rail Ministry into a platform of ‘Camera-driven’ self-promotion! Today’s tragedy is yet another reminder of this stark reality,” he said.

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi underscored the point, saying, “As a responsible Opposition, we will keep raising questions on this scary negligence and make the government accountable.”

“The safety and travel of passengers in Indian Railways is now becoming a matter of concern,” read a rough translation of a Hindi post from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“The railway accidents that have happened in the last 10 years are the result of the central government’s negligence and mismanagement. We will continue to raise our voice against this,” senior Congress leader Deepender Hooda told reporters.

The official handle of the Congress responded with a list of the major train accidents over the last decade, with a break-up of the number of people killed and injured in each.

मोदी सरकार में हुए बड़े रेल हादसे

26 मई, 2014
गोरखधाम एक्सप्रेस
25 लोगों की मौत
50 से ज्यादा घायल

20 नवंबर, 2016
इंदौर-पटना एक्सप्रेस
150 लोगों की मौत
150 से ज्यादा लोग घायल

23 अगस्त, 2017
कैफियत एक्सप्रेस
70 लोग घायल

18 अगस्त, 2017
पुरी-हरिद्वार उत्कल एक्सप्रेस
23 लोगों…

— Congress (@INCIndia) June 17, 2024

Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party pointed out that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, then Union railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had resigned taking responsibility for the Gasal train accident in 1999.

“But Ashwini Vaishnav in the Modi government, who had two major train accidents during his tenure, never once accepted the responsibility for the train accident… Railway account is only to promote Modi government by setting up selfie booth, not for safety of railway passengers,” the party posted on X.

New Delhi:

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Sunday that the first trial run of the Sangaldan-Reasi train was completed, a significant milestone of crossing the world’s tallest railway bridge, Chenab.

Vaishnaw said, “1st trial train has successfully run from Sangaldan to Reasi, including crossing the Chenab Bridge.”

He also said, “All construction works for the USBRL are nearly finished, with tunnel No.1 remaining partially incomplete.”

Notably, the Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

As the Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project is almost completed, Indian Railways is edging closer to connecting the Kashmir Valley to the rest of the railway network.

Chenab Bridge is a structural marvel built across a gorge of Chenab Bridge in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir under the USBRL Project.

This bridge was constructed 359 metres (around 109 feet) above the Chenab River in the Jammu and Kashmir region, and is around 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower.

Earlier, the Ministry of Railways made it to the “Limca Book of Records” for “most people at a public-service event – multiple venues.

“The Railways Ministry organised an event on February 26, 2024, which was attended by 40,19,516 people at 2,140 venues.

The event was organised for the inauguration of road over/road under railway bridges and for laying the foundation stones of railway stations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The mammoth effort and mobilisation of Indian Railways have been recognised, and the same has entered the prestigious Limca Book of World Records.

Meanwhile, Ashwini Vaishnaw assumed charge as Minister of Railways for the second time under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning in Delhi.

Vaishnaw has been assigned portfolios as Minister of Information and Broadcasting, and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, apart from the Railways Ministry.

Earlier on Friday, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said that India’s first Vande Bharat sleeper trains will be on track within two months.

Vaishnaw said, “The completion work of the trainset of the Vande Bharat sleeper train is in full swing and the first train will be on track within two months. All technical works are in the last phase. The trainset is manufactured by BEML Ltd at its rail unit in Bangalore. The much-awaited Vande Bharat Sleeper version will provide easy mobility to commuters and offer various comforts in the near future with global standards.”

The Minister said that the Vande Bharat sleeper train body is made of high-grade austenitic stainless steel and includes crash-worthy elements integrated into the crash buffers and couplers.

“The car body structure is crafted with high-grade Austenitic stainless steel, featuring crashworthy elements integrated into the crash buffers and couplers. Complying with stringent safety standards, all materials and aggregates in the trainset adhere to the Fire standard requirements as per EN45545 HL3 grade,” Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw further added that the Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains designed by BEML prioritize both aesthetic appeal and functionality in their design.

“The Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains designed by BEML prioritize both aesthetic appeal and functionality in their interiors, sleeper berths, and exteriors. From the front nose cone to interior panels, seats and berths, interior lights, couplers, gangways and beyond, every element is meticulously designed to meet the exacting standards of the sleeper trainset,” he said.

Notably, India’s first semi-high speeds indigenously built Vande Bharat trains have completely transformed the passenger experience. After the success of this modern train, Indian Railways is now set to launch its indigenous high-speed trains, Vande Sleeper.

Designed for travel at speeds of up to 200 km/h, the Vande Bharat sleeper train is envisioned to provide an alternative to the present Rajdhani Express for premium long-distance travel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses at the inauguration of the seventh edition of the India Mobile Congress at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi on October 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 27 hailed telecom operators’ progress in spreading 5G coverage in urban centres, saying that over 80% of India’s population now had access to the high speed technology. “Within a year of 5G launch, about 4 lakh 5G base stations have been built in India,” Mr. Modi said at the seventh India Mobile Congress event in New Delhi. 

“Improving internet connectivity and speed is not just about rankings and numbers,” Mr. Modi said, after mentioning Indian networks’ jump in global mobile data speed rankings. “Improving internet connectivity and speed also increases ease of living … it becomes easier for the student to connect with his teacher online, the patient has a seamless experience while connecting to his doctor for telemedicine [and] tourists can easily use online maps to find a location.”

“We are not only rapidly expanding 5G in India, but are also moving towards becoming a leader in the field of 6G,” Mr. Modi said, referring to research efforts in India to standardize the next generation of telecommunications. He took a swipe at the 2G scam, saying, “What happened here during 2G, maybe the new generation will not know … 4G expanded in our period but there is not a single stain” on that technology’s rollout, Mr. Modi said.

The Prime Minister pointed to increased domestic electronics manufacturing as a success, and cited Apple and Samsung’s smartphone assembly in India as an example. He also cited Google’s plans to assemble its Pixel lineup in India. “Today, we are exporting about Rs 2 lakh crore in electronic manufacturing,” Mr. Modi remarked. 

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters on the sidelines of the event that even the component manufacturing ecosystem was taking shape in India, with camera modules for Apple coming together in India soon. “The value addition is increasing rapidly,” Mr. Vaishnaw said, citing the fact that Google designs chips that go into its Pixel phones in India.

Mr. Modi made a pitch to securing electronics supply chains, a likely reference to Chinese dominance in electronics assembly and manufacturing. “It is … necessary to discuss how we can make the democratic societies of the world safe from troublemakers,” Mr. Modi warned. 

New Delhi:

Vande Bharat services are expected to be introduced in Srinagar within this financial year after the Jammu-Srinagar line becomes functional, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Thursday.

He said the semi-high speed train will also serve the people of Tripura once the railway line to the northeastern state gets electrified.

The government plans to roll out 75 Vande Bharat trains by March next year and is also keen to run sleeper versions of the trains on long-distance routes as an alternative to Rajdhani Express trains.

“Once the Jammu to Srinagar railway line is completed very soon Vande Bharat will also be run on that,” Vaishnaw told PTI.

He said the Jammu-Srinagar railway line is expected to start within this financial year.

This train has been designed in a unique way so that they run very smoothly in those temperatures and altitude, Vaishnaw said.

According to a survey, Vande Bharat express trains have been popular amongst the youth and senior citizens alike for comfort and speed.

“In Tripura, the railway line will get electrified shortly, then we will be able to provide Vande Bharat services to Tripura,” Vaishnaw said.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken personal interest in the development of the northeastern region and Jammu and Kashmir where railway services were being expanded in a big way. 

New Delhi:

The Indian Railway is introducing the ’14 minutes of miracle’ concept for speedy cleaning of trains from October 1, starting with 29 Vande Bharat trains at their respective destination stations across the country.

It will be formally launched by the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Delhi Cantt. Railway Station.

Mr Vaishnaw told reporters that the Vande Bharat trains will be cleaned within 14 minutes under the initiative to improve their punctuality and turnaround time.

“It is a unique concept and happening for the first time in the Indian railways,” the minister said.

The initiative is based on the concept of ‘7 minutes of miracle’ at various stations such as Osaka, Tokyo in Japan where bullet trains are cleaned and made ready for another journey within seven minutes.

The service has been made possible by enhancing the cleaning persons’ efficiency, skills and working attitude without increasing the number of front-line workforce already engaged in this activity, the minister said.

Besides Delhi Cantt, some of the other railway stations where it will be started are Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Mysore and Nagpur, depending on the respective arrival timings of the Vande Bharat trains.

Before launching this concept, the Railways carried out a couple of dry-runs where the attendants cleaned the train first in around 28 minutes and then improved it to 18 minutes. “Now it will take only 14 minutes without involving any new technology,” the minister said.

“Starting from Vande Bharat, we will apply the same concept in other trains slowly and gradually which will have a huge impact on improving their punctuality,” the minister said.

The Indian Railway launched a fortnight-long cleanliness drive – Swachhata-Hi-Seva campaign – in September in which the chairman and CEO of the Railway Board administered the Swachhata pledge to railway officials via video conferencing from the Rail Bhawan in New Delhi.

According to the railways, during the first 15 days of the SHS campaign, more than 2.19 lakh people participated in around 2050 activities involving 685,883 man-hours. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The proposed India-Middle-East-Europe Corridor, which is seen by many as a rival to China’s Belt And Road Project, will be substantially different, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told NDTV today. Compared to the Chinese project that has pitched some of its host nations into a debt trap, the G20 project will bring in revenue and be bankable, he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

“PM’s vision of taking everyone along is important part of this corridor… PM’s vision of sabka saath sabka vikas is very clearly ingrained in this one from conception,” the minister said.

Ever since it was announced, the US-backed project, dubbed by many as the new Spice Route, has been seen as a counterweight to China’s ambitious Belt And Road Initiative that aimed to roughly revive the ancient Silk route.

But 10 years down the line, the European nations are doubtful. The only G7 nation to sign up for it, Italy, is likely to drop out, reports say. And there are increasing murmurs about the debt trap the host countries are facing.

Mr Vaishnaw said the BRI came with lots of conditions. In case of this project, which will be partially a shipping corridor and the rest railway, each country can decide on the basis of its needs, he said.

The project will be so bankable that several multilateral institutions are willing to fund it. “Transportation will bring so much revenue that it will be able to pay on its own without getting the host country into a debt trap,” he added.

The proposed G20 project, announced on the sidelines of the meet, will   link railways, ports, electricity and data networks and hydrogen pipelines.

The project will link railway and port facilities across the Middle East — including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel – bypassing Suez canal and potentially speeding trade between India and Europe by up to 40 per cent.

New Delhi:

The government has received 32 applications for production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme 2.0 for IT hardware, of which 25 are domestic companies, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters in Delhi on Wednesday.

The announcement comes days after the government announced restrictions in laptop imports from November.

All of them are driven to gear up manufacturing and bring in supply chains.

Mr Vaishnaw said companies like HP, Dell, Lenovo, Thompson, Acer, and Asus will be manufacturing laptops under the scheme. HP, VVDN, Lenovo will be manufacturing servers.

He said Apple has not applied under the PLI framework, but the company is already manufacturing components.

This move should see a significant reduction in the import of laptops and PCs, Vaishnaw said, adding that “import restrictions are not a worry anymore.”

“I spoke to all the applicants, and they didn’t raise any concern,” he said.

The minister said incremental production expected is around Rs 3.35 lakh crore and the expected direct employment is around 75,000.

“The upcoming Dixon factory in Noida will alone employ 25,000 people,” he said.

Manufacturing of laptops will begin by April 2024, officials said, as companies such as Dell are also migrating to PLI scheme.

When asked if India is optimising on big players quitting China with its economy slowing down, Mr Vaishnaw said India is emerging as a trusted value chain partner.

“Many of these companies will use the semiconductors manufactured in India. In fact, they were pleased we are starting with the manufacturing of memory first, which is crucial for laptops. Companies have shared their detailed proposals. We are optimistic more will join,” he said.

Image for representational purposes

The story so far: On August 17, seeking to further tackle the menace of cybercrimes and financial fraud, Union Minister for Telecommunications Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced two reforms. These entail revision of norms for bulk procurement of SIM cards and registering the final point of sale (PoS) by the licensees (or providers). The reforms are meant to strengthen the citizen-centric portal Sanchar Saathi that was launched in May this year with the same objective.  

What is Sanchar Saathi?  

Broadly, the citizen-centric portal allows citizens to check the connections registered against their names, block mobile phones which are stolen or lost, report fraudulent or unrequired connections and verify the genuineness of a device (before a purchase) using the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). It utilises two modules, namely, the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) and the Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection (TAFCOP). 

Sanchar Saathi has, till date, analysed 114 crore active mobile connections. Of these, 66 lakh connections were flagged as suspicious, and 52 lakh connections were disconnected because they failed re-verification. Other than this, 66,000 WhatsApp accounts have been blocked and 8 lakh bank/wallet accounts used by fraudsters were frozen. Furthermore, as per the DoT, more than 300 FIRs have been filed against more than 1,700 dealers.  

What is the latest reform about PoS about?  

From now on, it would be mandatory for franchisee, agents and distributors of SIM cards– all PoS—to be registered with the licensees or the telecom network operator. The onus would be on the operator to carry out an “indisputable” verification of the PoS. Importantly, police verification (of the dealer) is mandatory.  

Further, the formal agreement for the sale of SIM cards between the PoS and licensees must be put down in writing. Existing SIM card providers have been given 12 months to comply with the registration requirements.  

If the PoS is found to be involved in any illegal activity, the agreement would be terminated with the entity being blacklisted for 3 years. It would also draw a penalty of Rs 10 lakh.  

The DoT holds that these provisionswould help in “identifying, blacklisting and eliminating rogue PoS, from the licensees’ system and provide and encouragement to the upright PoS.” The idea is to minimise instances (and PoS) where dealers have, by fraudulent practices, issued SIM cards to “anti-social/anti-national elements”. 

What about bulk SIM cards and their misuse?  

Broadly, the latest provisions would replace the system of ‘bulk procurement’ of SIM cards (by businesses, corporates or those meant for specific events) with a system entailing ‘business’ connections — sizeable procurement by a registered business entity or enterprise. Elaborating on the premise, Mr Vaishnaw observed that 20% of bulk-procured SIMs were misused. “In the guise of bulk connections, a lot of SIMs would be procured and then they would make automated calls using a SIM-box,” he said. Mr Vaishnaw added that another mechanism entailed using a certain number of SIMs from the bulk procurement to make a certain number of calls, destroying them and then using another batch.  

Also read: Govt to discontinue sale of SIM cards in bulk

The latest reforms would endeavour to address these issues. The new norms maintain that though businesses can procure any number of connections, it would be subject to completing KYC requirements for all end-users. In other words, the final user—the executive who would be holding the connection— would have to undergo the KYC procedure. This would help recognise each end user. The SIM would be activated only after successful KYC of the user and physical verification of the premise/address.  

In order to prevent the misuse of printed Aadhaar, the provisions mandate that demographic details would need to be captured by scanning the QR code of the printed Aadhaar. Subscribers would also have to undergo the entire KYC procedure for replacing their SIM; for a period of 24 hours, all outgoing and incoming SMS facilities would be barred.  

In addition to thumb impression and iris-based authentication as part of the E-KYC process, facial based biometric authentication has also been permitted.  

Further, per the norms, in case of disconnection of a mobile number, it would not be allocated to any other customer for 90 days.  

What considerations should we be looking at? 

Isha Suri, Research Lead at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) observed that notwithstanding the notification, it must be examined if the provisions could be properly enforced till the last mile. “The smaller local stores too would be giving out the SIM cards. Thus, it would be essential to determine if they possess adequate infrastructure to carry out the entire process and more importantly have the necessary safeguards while dealing with such sensitive data,” she observes. 

The researcher notes that there needs to be greater clarity about the agent’s requirements for acquiring, processing and retention of such data. 

Ms Suri also observes that notwithstanding Aadhaar-based KYC requirements that have been around for some time now, issues (relating to frauds) continue to exist. Thus, according to her, it could be the case that, “something (else) does not seem to be working.” 

Lastly, according to her, it is essential to strike a balance by “only acquiring the data that is strictly necessary and for the purpose it is being acquired for.” 

A view of the production of Vande Bharat Coaches at Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. File
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu

With an outlay of ₹2.40 lakh crore for the financial year 2023-24 compared to ₹1.40 lakh crore in the FY22-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the outlay for the railways is nine times the amount provided in 2013-2014.

The Ministry of Railways was able to spend ₹1.35 lakh crore in FY2021-22, budget documents note. 

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways said that because of lesser allocation to the railways in the past, the true potential of the sector had not been achieved. “The current outlay will be beneficial for 800 crore passengers who annually travel by railways,” Mr. Vaishnaw said. 

The higher outlay, he said, will be used to ramp up production of Vande Bharat trains, which will now be manufactured from four sites, as opposed to the existing one site in Chennai. “Sonipat in Haryana, Rae Bareilly in U.P., and Latur in Maharashtra will be added as manufacturing sites,” he said.  

Mr. Vaishnaw added, “Eight Vande Bharat trains have now covered an equivalent of travelling 52 times along the perimeter of the earth. So we now know that the product is well tested and stabilised. It is now time to ramp up supply chain and production. Currently we manufacture one Vande Bharat train in seven days. We want to ramp this up to two to three trains every week.”

Mr. Vaishnaw pointed out that operating ratio has stabilised at 98.22% against 107.39% in 2021-22. Operating ratio is the amount of money the railways has to spend to earn ₹100. A lower operating ratio implies better financial health. “We hope to reduce this number further as the entire electrification process is complete — 85% of the railway network has been electrified,” he said. 

He also said that a train run fully on hydrogen will be ready by December 2023, and will be first run on the Kalka-Shimla heritage circuit. The Ministry of Railways is developing economic and social corridors through the railway network: “These corridors will target hilly areas, port areas, tribal areas through the Janjatiya Gaurav corridor,” he said. 

On the work for the bullet trains, the first of which will run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, pegged to be commissioned not before 2026, Mr. Vaishnaw said that the previous Shiv Sena government had made it hard to obtain clearances for the project in Maharashtra. “Now the government has changed and clearances are easier to come by,” he added. 

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