Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav told the Lok Sabha that earlier only 6 km of railway work was completed in a year, but now we are completing 100 km of work annually. Although trains may be cancelled due to this huge work, the railways is engaged in finding ways to increase the progress with minimum interruption.
In fact, BJP MP from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Brajmohan Agarwal had pointed out the inconvenience caused to passengers due to cancellation of more than 200 trains. He also asked about the percentage of revenue contributed by Bilaspur Railway Zone.
In response, Vaishnav acknowledged the past disparities but pointed out that Chhattisgarh is covered by 58 express trains and 128 passenger trains. He claimed that the railway infrastructure in the state has developed significantly in the past ten years.
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During the Question Hour in Lok Sabha, BJP MP Brijmohan Agrawal had asked the question that what is the number of trains operated in Chhattisgarh in the last three years and how much revenue is generated from their operations? Answering these questions, Railway Minister Vaishnav gave a detailed account of the progress made and the funds allocated.
Vaishnav admitted that earlier there was a persistent shortage of funds for railway projects in the region. However, he said that the situation has improved a lot in recent years. The Railway Minister said that three years ago, 56 mail express trains and 121 passenger trains were running in the state. Today, we have increased it to 58 express trains and 128 passenger trains.
Emphasizing on the scale of development, the Railway Minister said that Chhattisgarh currently has projects worth several thousand crores of rupees, including 8 new railway lines. The aim of this expansion is to substantially increase the railway capacity of the state. He said that ten years ago, the investment in Chhattisgarh’s railways was around Rs 311 crore, which has now increased to more than Rs 6000 crore.
100 kilometers of work every day
Vaishnav also highlighted the increasing pace of work and said, “Earlier, only 6 km of railway work was completed in a year, but now we are completing 100 km of work annually. Although trains may be cancelled due to this extensive work, I am committed to finding ways to maximize progress with minimum disruption.”
There was no justice in distributing the funds
The Railway Minister said, during the UPA government, i.e. ten years ago, there was no justice in fund allocation, but now adequate funds are being allocated. We are working to reduce the connection time from four days to three days, which will significantly improve capacity.
KC Venugopal criticized
Joining the debate, Congress MP KC Venugopal criticized the minister for misleading the House by comparing the current times with the UPA era. He also expressed concern about the impact of new initiatives like Vande Bharat Train on passenger convenience. On this, Railway Minister Vaishnav clarified that there was no intention to mislead. Trains have been cancelled due to ongoing work.