Budget 2024: 3 New Railway Corridors, 40,000 Rail Coaches To Be Converted Into Vande Bharat’s Standards

Budget 2024: FM Sitharaman said, “The resultant decongestion of the high-traffic corridors will also help in improving operations of passenger trains, resulting in safety and higher travel speed"

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced during her Budget speech that the government will establishment three major corridors, including energy, mineral and cement corridors, port connectivity corridors, and high traffic density corridors, under the Prime Minister Gati Shakti Scheme for enabling multi-modal connectivity. In addition, the government will convert forty thousand normal rail bogies to the Vande Bharat standards aimed to enhance the safety, convenience and comfort of passengers in the country.

FM Sitharaman said: “The resultant decongestion of the high-traffic corridors will also help in improving operations of passenger trains, resulting in safety and higher travel speed for passengers. Together with dedicated freight corridors, these three economic corridor programmes will accelerate our GDP growth and reduce logistic costs.”

According to Sitharaman, India is currently experiencing a fast-expanding middle class, and to fulfil their demands, urbanisation is also taking place at a rapid speed. To provide ease of transport, Metro Rail and NaMo Bharat can be the catalyst for the required urban transformation. Expansion of these systems in the country’s large cities will sport their regions focusing on transit-oriented development.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament, stressed on the multiple new initiatives taken in the last ten years by the Indian Railways. Along with highlighting the new trains started by the government, such as Amrit Bharat, Namo Bharat and Vande Bharat, Murmu added that more than 25,000 kilometres of railway tracks were laid, which is more than the total length of railway tracks in several developed countries today. “India is very close to 100 per cent electrification of railways,” she added. 

The president also noted that semi-high speed trains were started for the first time in India. “Today, Vande Bharat trains are running on more than 39 routes,” said Murmu. She also opined that more than 1300 railway stations are being transformed under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. 

She also spoke about the Indian Railways initiative of offering a 50 per cent discount on every passenger. “Due to this, the poor and middle-class passengers save Rs 60 thousand crore every year,” she said.