India To Become Net Exporter of Railway Technology In 3 Years: Ashwini Vaishnaw At ABP Network Ideas Of India Summit

Ideas of India Summit 2023: Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said under PM Modi's vision of transforming the railways, the nation will become a net exporter of technology in just 3 years.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said the major challenge was solving the problem of space crunch in the railway connectivity sector.

Union Minister of Railways, Communications, and Electronics & Information Technology on Friday said that PM Narendra Modi is committed to transforming the experience of every train passenger, irrespective of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s political presence. While speaking at the ABP Network Ideas of India session on Day 1, Vaishnaw quipped that PM Modi doesn’t let him sleep and constantly pushes him to further Indian Railways’s development work. “The PM doesn’t let us sleep. He loves to see us work,” Vaishnaw said.

The Indian Railways has a massive network that handles over 800 crore passengers every year. “PM Modi wants transformation of railway stations first as this is the point of first contact between a passenger and the Indian Railways,” Vaishnaw said showing a presentation during the session titled 'Last Mile Mobility: Connecting the Dots’ in Mumbai. He goes on to show images of a transformed Rani Kamalapati railway station in Bhopal and the Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar stations in Gujarat and the proposed designs of futuristic Mumbai and Delhi stations.

Vaishnaw said the major challenge was solving the problem of space crunch in the railway connectivity sector.

Citing his plan for the Mumbai railway station, how he described how he envisaged it to be in the future. “The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shivaji Station was designed in the British era the contemporary style of that time. Now, we want to design it in a way that people from London would come to India just to see the CSMT,” he said. “It’s not just about Mumbai, Delhi, or Ahmedabad. It’s about recreating designs for stations across the country. PM Modi has given a target to change the experience of every railway passenger in India,” he added.

He said that every redesigning project should be undertaken in a way that heritage is preserved while keeping the future in mind. PM Modi’s motto is ‘Vikas bhi virasat bhi’ ('development with heritage'). We need to preserve heritage as well as integrate futuristic designs.

He then shared an anecdote. “PM Modi wants seamless integration of every mode of transport at railway stations and creation of urban spaces. Stations should be designed like city centres... So, we took around 50 designs and made a 2.5-hour presentation for PM Modi. But he was not happy. He said these designs are good for today. But I want a design that would be relevant even 50 years later. That’s PM Modi’s vision.” “PM Modi makes us think bigger. Where our thought process ends, PM Modi’s ideas begin,” he added.

He further said that PM Modi in 2017 said India needs world-class trains. "There are three elements to changing passenger experience:  stations, trains, and safety. Our officers went to Germany, France and other nations and brought back presentations and brochures. They thought they could replicate those technologies in India. But PM Modi wanted every aspect of the Vande Bharat trains to be designed and manufactured in India by Indians.”

Vaishnaw said there are only eight countries that have designed trains with speeds of up to 160 kmph. “Today, our Vande Bharat can go at over 180 kmph without even the tiniest jerk and we achieved this feat in just 1.5 years.” “Due to PM Modi’s vision, in just three years, we will become a net exporter of railway technology,” he added.

He then went on to speak about the safety aspect in Indian trains. He said India took a leap of faith with ‘Kavach’, which is an indigenously designed anti-collision system that would enable even two high-speed trains coming towards each other to avoid hitting each other.

Speaking about bullet trains he took a dig at Uddhav Thackeray, saying he had a laid-back attitude and had no interest in development. “Eknath Shinde approved projects as soon as he came to power,” Vaishnaw said. The first bullet train will cover 508.17 km and will reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to just about two hours.

The session was later moderated by veteran journalist and author Vir Sanghvi.