The Indian government has announced a significant investment of Rs 10,376 crore for railway development in the northeastern region, as revealed by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during a press conference in Delhi on Wednesday.
In addition to this substantial allocation, Vaishnaw disclosed plans to revamp 60 railway stations in the northeast, transforming them into “Amrit Stations” as part of a broader modernization initiative.
“For the entire northeastern region this year, an allocation of Rs 10,376 crore has been made. As you are aware, 60 stations are being redeveloped in the northeastern region with the aim to make them Amrit Stations,” said the minister.
The announcement comes as part of a larger railway budget allocation of Rs 2,62,200 crore for the fiscal year 2024-25, which the minister attributed to the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The government’s focus on railway development extends beyond the northeast. Vaishnaw outlined allocations for other regions, including Rs 3,694 crore for Jammu and Kashmir, with ongoing work on four major stations, and Rs 5,131 crore for Uttarakhand, emphasizing the Karnaprayag project featuring a 213 km tunnel.
He also added that the two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) used in this project are named ‘Shiv’ and ‘Shakti’. This tunnel project will be completed by mid-2026.
In Maharashtra, plans are underway to redevelop 128 railway stations under the Amrit Bharat scheme, with 100% electrification of railway infrastructure already completed. Madhya Pradesh will receive Rs 14,738 crore, with ongoing projects worth over Rs 80,000 crore.
The minister also highlighted that in the last ten years, railways have developed differently compared to the past 60 years. He informed that almost 96% of the railway network is electrified, and 31,000 km of new railway tracks have been constructed in the last ten years.
The minister also pointed out the increased pace of track laying, which has risen from 4 km per day in 2014-15 to 14.54 km per day in 2023-24. Furthermore, Indian Railways has electrified 41,655 Route Kms (RKMs) in the past decade, compared to only 21,413 RKMs until 2014.
(Inputs from ANI)
