New Delhi, Dec 17: In a bid to meet the growing demand for passenger travel and ensure hassle-free booking, Indian Railways has announced its ambitious plan to eliminate waiting lists entirely in the next four to five years.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the national transporter is currently running 10,754 daily train trips and plans to add 3,000 more to bring down the waiting list to zero.
Indian Railways will invest Rs 1 lakh crore in acquiring 7,000-8,000 new train sets over the next 15 years, which will increase the passenger capacity from 800 crore to 1,000 crore annually.
He also said that the new trains will be equipped with modern features such as push-pull configuration, digital display boards, bio-toilets, CCTV cameras, and fire safety systems.
He said that the new trains will include Vande Bharat Express, which is a semi-high speed train that can run at a speed of 160 kmph and has better acceleration and deceleration than conventional trains.
Vande Bharat Express will be introduced on several routes across the country, such as Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Patna, Delhi-Lucknow, and Delhi-Amritsar.
Government is also working on developing dedicated freight corridors, which will free up the existing tracks for passenger trains and reduce travel time and congestion.
Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors, which are expected to be completed by 2024, will enable faster and smoother movement of goods and services.
He said that the government is committed to make Indian Railways a world-class service provider and a global leader in innovation and technology.
He said that the government’s vision is to make Indian Railways a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Campaign) and a net exporter of railway equipment.
