Vande Bharat to bullet train, Railways to ride a ₹3 tn budget

livemint.com:

NEW DELHI : Budgetary allocation for Indian Railways is expected to hit record levels in 2024-25 as the government gears up to support a major makeover for the national transporter with additional modern and faster trains and improved safety features. The capital expenditure (capex) for the railways is likely to be increased by about 25% from the 2023-24 budget estimate, two people aware of the development said. That would take the budgetary allocation to more than ₹3 trillion in 2024-25.

The railway ministry had sought an increase in its planned capex for long-term infrastructure projects of freight corridors and speedier trains, as well as modernizing the fleet with new-age trains, wagons and locos, one of them said. The increased capex would also go towards rolling out 300-400 Vande Bharat trains in different formats, including one with sleeper coaches, as well as overhauling the signalling systems. The safety budget of the railways is expected to be almost doubled to help it accomplish its Mission Zero Accidents sooner, this person said.

The safety budget has remained stagnant for the past two years at around ₹11,000 crore. The finance and railway ministries did not reply to queries until press time. “Higher plan capex allocation for [Indian] Railways is the need of the hour as the national transporter reaches a critical stage of implementing key infrastructure projects," said Subodh Jain, a former member of the Railway Board.