Railway Budget: The Indian government has released a report on the major developments and achievements in the railways over the past 10 years. It states that India has the fourth largest railway network in the world, after the United States, China, and Russia. The Indian Railways carries 20 million passengers daily and 800 crore passengers annually. It operates 1,200 passenger express trains. The government claims that in the financial year 2022-23, the railways loaded 151 crore tons (1,512 million tons) of goods, based on the data provided by the government. It is revealed that in the nine years (2014-23), India has added 5,243 km of railway network, which is equal to the Swiss railway, and 25,434 km, which is equal to the German railway.
Increase in Railway Budget: The railway budget has increased 30 times from 8,000 crore rupees in 2004-05 to 29,055 crore rupees in 2013-14. It has now been increased to 2.4 lakh crore rupees for 2023-24. According to the Modi government, new railway lines have also been built under this government. From 2004 to 2014, work was done on 14,985 route kilometers of railway tracks. In the past nine years (2014-23), 25,871 route kilometers of tracks have been laid. This is a 75% increase in new railway lines.
Track Laying Progress: In 2022-23, 14 km of tracks were laid daily, and this year the target is to lay 16 km of tracks daily. According to government figures, the expenditure on railway electrification projects has increased by more than five times (375% increase) since 2014. Furthermore, under the Amrit Bharat Yojana, identification has been done for the development of 1,309 stations so far.
Vande Bharat Express: Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations. The redevelopment of these 508 stations will be done at a cost of more than 24,470 crore rupees. According to the government, 35 Vande Bharat trains have been launched so far. In the past five years, until September 2023, Indian Railways has filled more than 2.94 lakh vacancies. The Rail Ministry has started the construction of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) at a cost of rupees. For the commissioning of 2,513 kilometers, 1.09 lakh crore rupees have been allocated, and Kavach has been deployed on 1,465 route kilometers and 139 locomotives.
केंद्र सरकार ने रेलवे बजट में पिछले 10 सालों में हुए प्रमुख कार्यों और उपलब्धियों का ब्योरा जारी किया है। इसमें बताया गया है कि भारत के पास दुनिया का चौथा सबसे बड़ा रेलवे नेटवर्क है और भारतीय रेलवे प्रतिदिन 20 मिलियन और सालाना 800 करोड़ यात्रियों को यात्रा कराती है। वित्त वर्ष 2022-23 में रेलवे द्वारा 151 करोड़ टन माल लदान किया गया है और रेल नेटवर्क में स्विस रेलवे के बराबर 5,243 किमी और जर्मन रेलवे के बराबर 25,434 किमी जोड़ा गया है। रेलवे बजट को 30 गुना बढ़ाया गया है और नई रेल लाइनों में 75% की वृद्धि हुई है। प्रतिदिन 14 किमी ट्रैक बिछाया गया है और इस वर्ष प्रतिदिन 16 किमी ट्रैक बिछाने का लक्ष्य है। इसके साथ ही, भारतीय रेलवे ने 508 स्टेशनों के पुनर्विकास की आधारशिला रखी है और अब तक 35 वंदे भारत ट्रेनें लॉन्च की जा चुकी हैं। रेल मंत्रालय ने रुपये की लागत से दो समर्पित माल गलियारों का निर्माण शुरू कर दिया है।
