New Delhi:

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the engine of the Sabarmati Express train hit an “object placed on the track” and derailed near Kanpur at 2.35 am on Saturday.

Twenty coaches of the Sabarmati Express passenger train derailed near Govindpuri station in Kanpur, rail officials said. There is no report of any loss of life or injury in the accident.

Vaishnaw, in a post on X, said, evidence related to the accident has been protected and the IB and the Uttar Pradesh Police are investigating it.

“The engine of Sabarmati Express (Varanasi to Amdavad) hit an object placed on the track and derailed near Kanpur at 02:35 am today,” he said on X.

The engine of Sabarmati Express (Varanasi to Amdavad) hit an object placed on the track and derailed near Kanpur at 02:35 am today.

Sharp hit marks are observed. Evidence is protected. IB and UP police are also working on it.

No injuries to passengers or staff. Train arranged…

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) August 17, 2024

He added, “Sharp hit marks are observed. Evidence is protected. IB and UP police are also working on it. No injuries to passengers or staff. Train arranged for passengers for onward journey to Amdavad.” Rescue and relief operations at the site are underway, officials said.

Railway Board officials said the involvement of miscreants or anti-social elements is being looked into as prima facie it appears that the engine hit an object placed on the track.

“We found a foreign material near the 16th coach of the train. Looking at the size of the damaged portion of the cattle guard of the engine, it seems that the engine hit this foreign object and derailed,” an official said.

“The loco pilot said that some boulder hit the cattle guard (front portion) of the engine which got badly damaged and bent,” another official said.

On the same track at 1:20 am, a Patna-Indore train crossed uninterrupted, Railway Board officials said.

Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar said, “Buses have been arranged for the passengers along with alternative arrangements for transportation and all passengers have been evacuated from the spot.” According to the Railways, seven trains have been cancelled and three diverted due to the derailment.

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

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks on the Union Budget in New Delhi on July 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Ministry of Railways has received a record allocation of over ₹2.55 lakh crore in financial year 2024-25, which is a jump of 5.85% from the previous year’s ₹2.41 lakh crore, according to Union Budget documents.

The total outlay provided for capital expenditure includes ₹2.52 lakh crore from general revenues, ₹200 crore from Nirbhaya Fund, ₹3,000 crore from internal resources and ₹10,000 crore from extra budgetary resources, bringing it up to ₹2.65 lakh crore. This amount will be spent on assets, acquisitions, construction and replacement, the Budget document stated.

In 2014, only ₹35,000 crore was spent towards capital expenditure on railways. “Compared to that, current Budget estimates are a record allocation for capital expenditure for railways. And a majority of this fund will be spent on ensuring safety works,” Mr. Vaishnaw said.

The actual operating ratio of the railways for FY2022-23 stood at 98.10%. In Budget Estimates of FY2024-25, this has gone up a bit to 98.22%. Operating ratio is number of rupees spent to earn every hundred rupees.

He said the priority of railways will be safety first, comfort, increase in capacity and also in infrastructure.

Kavach installation

With approvals on Kavach 4.0 which have been received, the pace of installation of the Automatic Train Protection system will be rapid. “Kavach consists of multiple components like hardware, software, optical fibre. And India has a diverse network of railway systems, so the challenge is to combine all networks for deployment of Kavach,” said Mr. Vaishnaw.

Also read | Absence of announcements to improve railway safety, restore senior citizens’ concession flayed

He also said that there is a major focus on generating employment in railways and that 38,000 to 40,000 new jobs are being created. “In the first two terms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, up to five lakh jobs were created,” he said.

Mr. Vaishnaw further said that there will be focus on new projects, connectivity with Kashmir, as well as connecting all capitals of Northeastern States. He added that the thrust will be on procuring new rolling stock, developing Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat trains and Vande Metro.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on June 30 said new railway projects worth ₹1 lakh crore will be implemented in Odisha in the next five years.

Mr. Vaishnaw said this while addressing a felicitation programme organised by Odisha BJP in Bhubaneswar to felicitate the party’s 20 MPs and 78 MLAs elected in recently held Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections in Odisha.

“The Congress government and the then Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government have neglected the development of the railway sector in Odisha. So, with the formation of a double-engine government of the BJP in Odisha and Centre, now, the gap created during the past years, will be met by creating a new record in these five years,” he said.

“Though many mega railway projects have been sanctioned, those were delayed due to delay in land acquisition by the previous BJD government,” said Mr. Vaishnaw, adding, “Now double engine government is formed and the pace of the railway projects will be accelerated.”

The Union Minister said the allocation to Odisha in the Railway Budget has been enhanced from ₹800 crore during the UPA government tenure to more than ₹10,000 crore during Modi government.

“During the past three consecutive years, more than ₹10,000 crore has been allocated to the State in the railway sector,” he said.

Mr. Vaishnaw further said a new railway line of 1,826 km was constructed in Odisha during the last 10 years, which is higher than the total railway network of Sri Lanka (1,700 km). He also said that 315 special trains will run to and from Puri during the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath for smooth travel and convenience of the pilgrims. “Last year, 222 trains were run during the Rath Yatra. The special trains have been planned from 25 districts of Odisha,” he added.

Mr. Vaishnaw, who is also the IT Minister, said that an electronic manufacturing cluster and a semi-conductor training centre will be set up in Odisha.

Congratulating the newly elected MLAs and MPs, he expressed confidence that the BJP government will continue to serve the people of Odisha for the next 50 years. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and two Deputy Chief Ministers K. V. Singh Deo and Pravati Parida are like Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra who have been given a big responsibility for the development of the State.

A lot of first-time MLAs and MPs have been elected in this election and the State for the first time has CM and Deputy CMs belonging to the BJP. With this team, a new Odisha will be built which will help in building a ‘Viksit Bharat’, Mr. Pradhan said.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram advised the BJP MLAs and MPs to have a mindset of ‘nation first, party second and self last’.

Mr. Oram said the BJP has helped the BJD to form a government in the State to end the Congress government. “But, they became “arrogant and became worse” like the Congress government. So, people have elected the BJP government,” he said.

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.