ET WLF: Ashwini Vaishnaw outlines India's railway surge in Modi's 10 years, maps out the road-ahead
Ashwini Vaishnaw said during his address at the ET World Leaders Forum event held in Delhi on August 31.
There are four pillars of growth, the minister said — investment in public infra, inclusive growth, manufacturing and simplification of laws.
Vaishnaw observed that from 2014 to 2024, India constructed 14,985 kms of railway tracks, which is higher than a rich country like France achieved during the same time frame.
During 2004-14, the km count of railway tracks in India was at 14,000 kms, but in the last 10 years the count has crossed 31,000, he said.
Vaishnaw's railway road map
Indian Railways is adding 14.5 kms of tracks every day, he informed the audience at the event.
Railway electrification has also grown rapidly, Vaishnaw pointed out. In 60 years, railways electrification was at 21,000 km, while in the past 10 years it touched 41,000 km, he said.
In entire history of railways till 2014, railway tunnels were 125 only, which was a far cry from what they now are, he noted.
Talking about the Chenab bridge project, Vaishnaw said that engineers are making India proud.
The minister made special mention of the Vande Bharat trains, saying that this train is better than the best in the world. Vande Bharat trains' noise level is 100 times less than an aircraft, he added.
Why can’t our engineers design for us when they are designing for the world? This was the challenge thrown by the PM at them, he said.
The minister also informed that Vande bharat sleeper trials are set to begin in the next 7 days.
Vaish
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