Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has shared big update on future development and manufacturing plans for the Railways. The Railway Minister said that a special drive in which around 2,500 new general passenger train coaches are being manufactured and approval has been granted for manufacturing another 10,000 such coaches. He also spoke on the ongoing improvements in service, safety, and cleanliness across railway operations.
While talking to reporters in the national capital, he added that the manufacturing of another 50 Amrit Bharat trains has started. Last year, two such trains were flagged off from Maldah and Darbhanga by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Prime Minister flagged off two new Amrit Bharat trains — Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express in December 2023.
Coming back to the Union Minister, he further informed that the process for manufacturing another 150 such Amrit Bharat trains has also started.
The Amrit Bharat train is an LHB (Linke-Hofmann-Busch) push-pull train, which has locomotives at both ends for better acceleration. Moreover, he spoke on the rollout of Kavach system and said that “it is also being done at a fast pace”
“The manufacturing of 50 more Amrit Bharat trains has started. The process to manufacture 150 more Amrit Bharat trains has also started… Last year, 5300 km of new tracks were added. This year also, more than 800 km of tracks have been added…” he said.
Kavach has been designed to assist locomotive pilots in avoiding Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) and over speeding while also providing support for train operations during adverse weather conditions such as dense fog. By automatically applying brakes when necessary, the system ensures better control over train speed and prevents potential accidents.
There was much debate around the anti-collision system in light of the horrific triple-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2 last year, which claimed the lives of close to 300 passengers while leaving about 1,000 injured. Vaishnaw was also targeted by the Opposition and they also called for his resignation.
