Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday (November 24) highlighted a significant achievement in railway electrification. The Railways Minister said that 40,000 km of electrification has taken place in the last 9.5 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra since he came into power in 2014.
“To achieve the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, we will have to do more transportation by using our energy resources. This became possible after electrifying the entire railway. Modi ji took up the work of electrification in 2014. There has been 40,000 KM of electrification in 9.5 years,” said Vaishnaw while addressing the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) Conference.
Vaishnaw pointed out that using domestically generated electricity in railways reduces the cost of importing oil, showcasing the far-sighted thinking of Prime Minister Modi.
Better maintenance, reliability, speed and safety
Vaishnaw urged railway officials to contribute to better maintenance, reliability, speed, and safety to support increased transportation via railways. He commended the positive impact of the rolling block system introduced about a year ago, emphasising that the planning, maintenance, repair, and replacement work executed two weeks in advance has enhanced reliability and certainty in railway operations.
“The investments and reforms in Railway Voice will completely transform the Railways. Today everyone asks why this did not happen earlier. This shows that you all have so much potential that if you work with each other, then you can achieve wonders,” added Vaishnaw.
Indian Railways to build 5,000 km of tracks annually
Vaishnaw also announced the government’s plan to build 5,000 km of tracks annually, highlighting advancements in planning, rolling stock, signalling systems, and infrastructure modifications in the railway sector.