A Rs 7,000 crore project is planned to connect Marathwada to port facilities.
Nashik: Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw has asserted that there is no way that the Indian Railways would be privatised, rather, the focus of the national transporter is on providing affordable service to all. The aim is to ensure people can travel up to 1,000 kilometres in comfort in less than Rs 400, said Ashwini Vaishnaw in Nashik on Friday, October 4 while addressing the Railway Protection Force Raising Day event.
“In the next five years, the railways will undergo a complete makeover. Trains like Vande Bharat, Namo Bharat, deployment of Kavach train protection mechanism will lead this change. This is the era of transformation of railways,” he said.
“There is no question of privatisation of the railways. I urge those spreading such rumours to remember the railways and defence are two backbones of India and must be spared all kinds of politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured the politicisation of the railways has stopped. The focus is on performance, safety, technology and providing affordable service to all,” said Vaishnaw.
Highlighting the railway budget, he mentioned that it is presently at Rs 2.5 lakh crore, with 31,000 kilometres of new railway tracks being laid out over the past decade.
“We plan to start 3,000 train services in the next six years. During UPA rule, Maharashtra used to get Rs 1,171 crore for railway works. This figure has gone up to Rs 15,940 crore under the Modi government. A sum of Rs 33,000 crore is earmarked for the bullet train segment in the state as well as Rs 12,500 crore for the state leg of the dedicated freight corridor,” he said.
A project worth Rs 7,000 crore is in the pipeline to link Marathwada with port facilities, and approval has been granted for the Jalna-Jalgaon and Indore-Mumbai direct connectivity projects, he further stated.
“In all, total investment in railway projects in Maharashtra stands at Rs 1.64 lakh crore. Under the Amrit Bharat station project, 1,337 stations have been identified, 132 of which are in Maharashtra. Due to a giant telescope coming up at Khoda near Narayangaon, the Pune-Nashik rail line work is facing problems. We are trying to overcome these,” said the minister.
(With PTI inputs)