Indian Railways neglected for 50 years, now being revamped: Vaishnaw
New Delhi/Valsad: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said the Indian Railways remained neglected for over five decades, but now it is undergoing total transformation under the NDA government.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of the 41st Raising Day of the Railway Protection Force at Valsad in Gujarat, the Minister for Railways also announced that recruitment for RPF personnel will now be conducted every year, instead of every four to five years.
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"For 50-60 years, the Railways remained neglected in the country. Today, the Railways is undergoing a total transformation. In the past 11 years, nearly 35,000 kilometres of tracks have been laid. This is unprecedented in the history of Railways. As a result, more trains are running today," Vaishnaw said in his address.
He informed that 1,300 stations are currently undergoing redevelopment. Of these, 110 stations have been inaugurated after the completion of work, while work on the remaining stations is underway.
"Around 60,000 kilometres of tracks have been electrified. When people around the world look at these enormous achievements of the Railways, they are astonished, as even prosperous countries have not been able to achieve such electrification in such a short time," said the minister.
Based on the experience gained from the first two Namo Bharat services, mass production of Namo Bharat trains will now begin, he said, adding that mainline EMU trains, which are in demand, are also being inducted.
"Approximately 3,500 general coaches have been added to trains, and production of 7,000 general coaches is currently underway. The Railways is working with a focus on providing services to all sections of society, especially to low-income and middle-income families," he said.
The Kavach system has already been installed on nearly 1,200 locomotives, Vaishnaw informed.
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system to prevent train accidents by automatically applying brakes.
On the modernisation of RPF, Vaishnaw said all its officers and field staff will soon get VHF (very high frequency) walkie-talkie sets as requested by the RPF director general recently.
"Just a few days back, the director general of the RPF requested that all officers and field personnel in the force should have VHF sets. I assure you that the chairman of the Railway Board will soon approve this, and once approved, you can purchase as many VHF sets as you need," said the minister.
Last year, 452 sub-inspectors were recruited in the RPF, and the recruitment process for 4,208 constables has now been completed, he said.
"We were all concerned that if recruitment happens only once every four or five years, it creates issues for candidates who aspire to join the Railways. Thus, we have taken a decision so that a fresh batch of constables can join the Railways every year," the minister said.
"Now, the Staff Selection Commission will recruit constables, sub-inspectors and inspectors every year. Allowing a new batch to join each year will help the force to move towards proper cadre management," he added.
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