With Rail Accidents On A Rise, Centre Increases Track Renewal Budget By Rs 825 Crore

The finance ministry also allocated Rs 12,725.76 crore for repair and maintenance materials this time compared to Rs 11,833.13 crore last year.

Facing an increased number of accidents, the Indian Railways has redirected its emphasis on track renewal work. The Railways' safety got a boost with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocating Rs 825 Crore more this time for the track renewal work. The Railways has got Rs 17,651.98 crore for track renewals this year compared to Rs 16,826.36 crore last year. This comes amid a back-to-back accident which revealed lapses on the part of railways and its officials. 

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized the focus on infrastructure development and upgrades in the railways sector, announcing an allocation of ₹2.66 lakh crore. A significant portion of this budget will be dedicated to enhancing safety measures, with plans to implement the Kavach system on 5,000 kilometers of railway lines. Additionally, there will be upgrades to coaches, including the introduction of Vande Bharat and Sleeper Vande Bharat trains in the near future. Despite these advancements, Indian railway fares remain the lowest in the world, he said.

The finance minister also allocated Rs 12,725.76 crore for repair and maintenance materials this time compared to Rs 11,833.13 crore last year. The railways have been given Rs 34,602.75 crore for construction/addition of new lines while Rs 29,312.19 crore has been given for doubling of the existing lines. Rs 705.18 crore has been allocated for road safety works and level crossings while Rs 9274.69 crore has been given for road over / under bridges. 

As per the budget doc, Rs 4,647.28 crore has been assigned for signalling and telecom, compared to Rs 3,580.85 crore in the last budget. Rs 6,472.30 crore has been given to the Railways for electrification Projects, compared to Rs 8,360.72 crore in the last budget.

The emphasis on railway safety comes amid back-to-back accidents which claimed multiple lives. Since June 2023, four major accidents have claimed hundreds of lives. On June 2 last year, a train accident happened in Balasore in which around 290 people lost their lives. On October 11, 2023, four people lost their lives in the North East Express train accident. 

Then, the Kanchanjunga Express Accident happened on June 17 this year claiming the lives of 10 people while the Gonda train accident on July 18 claimed four lives.