Budget 2024: With Vande Bharat comes greater need for Indian Railways’ safety shield
Union Budget 2024: In a bid to enhance passenger travel experience and facilitate faster speeds, thereby reducing travel time, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in her interim budget speech earlier this year that 40,000 normal rail bogies will undergo conversion to Vande Bharat standards. This announcement marked a significant boost to India’s railway infrastructure, underscoring its pivotal role in the government’s capital expenditure agenda.
The interim budget for fiscal 2024-25 allocated Rs 2.55 lakh crore to Indian Railways. Sitharaman, in her sixth budget speech, proposed a 5.8% increase over the budgetary estimate (BE) of Rs 2.41 lakh crore set for fiscal 2023-24. The revised estimates (RE) for fiscal 2023-24 stood at Rs 2.43 lakh crore, marking a notable commitment to bolstering the railway sector.
Once again, this allocation in the interim budget represented the highest ever granted to the national transporter, reflecting the government's steadfast commitment to enhancing railway infrastructure and services across the country.
In recent years, the Indian government has intensified efforts to modernize its extensive railway network, catering to a population of 1.4 billion while simultaneously easing congestion on existing lines. This modernization drive includes the construction of dedicated freight corridors aimed at mitigating supply chain bottlenecks and improving logistical efficiency. Against the backdrop of the recent elections, the government unveiled a 100-day action plan focusing
