Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her interim budget speech in Lok Sabha on Thursday unveiled an allocation of ₹2.55 lakh crore for the railways, setting the stage for an upgrade of approximately 40,000 coaches to Vande Bharat standards.
Addressing the media during a press conference following the budget announcement, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw detailed the transformative impact of the Vande Bharat success on the broader railway network.
Underlining the government's focus on infrastructure development, Vaishnaw emphasised the achievements of the last decade. "The past ten years have been dedicated to creating capacity, adopting new technologies, and ensuring safety. We have added an impressive 26,000 kilometres of tracks during this period," he stated.
The Finance Minister, in the morning's budget speech, outlined the key priorities for the railways, with a focus on three corridors — Energy, Mineral and Cement corridor, Port Connectivity Corridor and a High Traffic Density Corridor.
According to Vaishnaw, the Minerals and Coal corridor is expected to reduce congestion on roads, providing a vital boost to the transportation of goods.
"Despite facing challenges, the railway sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience, achieving 82% of the allocated capital expenditure by the end of January 2024," Vaishnaw added.
It is noteworthy that the budgetary rail allocation for the fiscal year 2024, announced by the Finance Minister in the morning, amounted to ₹2.4 lakh crore.
Also Read: Budget 2024: Here's why railway stocks like IRFC, RVNL are trading lower post the FM's speech
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
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