Lok Sabha Question No. 450 (STARRED), answered on 2019-07-24
Subject: Modernisation of Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: A. Ganeshamurthi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 450 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2019

## MODERNISATION OF RAILWAYS

## *450. SHRI A. GANESHAMURTHI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  modernise  the Railways and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the manner in which the process of modernisation is going to be taken up along with the sectors/areas decided for the purpose;
- (c) the total budget earmarked for modernisation and funds allocated for the purpose during the current financial year; and
- (d) the time by which the modernisation of Railways is likely to be completed?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL )

- (a) to (d)  A Statement is laid on the Table of  the House.

*  * * * *

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  450  BY  SHRI  A.  GANESHAMURTHI  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 24.07.2019 REGARDING MODERNISATION OF RAILWAYS (a) and (b) Yes, Sir. It is the continual endeavour  of Indian Railways(IR)  to  take  measures  for  modernization  of  its  assets  and services in both passenger and freight segments with an objective to improve    throughput,  safety,  reliability,  availability  and  efficiency  of services.    Some  of  the  major  initiatives  of  modernization  on  Indian Railways, under various categories are detailed as under: Modern  Infrastructure  Projects:  Two  Dedicated  Freight  CorridorsEastern Corridor(1856 Kms) and Western Corridor(1504 Kms) and one High  Speed  Rail  Project  of  500  Kms  of  length  between  Mumbai  to Ahmedabad are under construction.  Both these Projects leverage on state of art modern technology in rail transport. Track:  Modern track structure of 60kg rail on Pre-Stressed Concrete Sleepers (PSC) with improved track fittings; Laying of longer rails; Use of  thick  web  switches  and  weldable  Cast  Manganese  Steel  (CMS) crossings; Mechanized maintenance of track; Ultrasonic flaw detection testing of rails; Adoption of modern Diagnostic Techniques for  health  monitoring  of  Bridges  and  Elimination  of  Unmanned  Level Crossings; Upgradation of Speeds. Signaling: Electronic Interlocking System; Track Circuiting; Axle Counter for Automatic clearance of Block Section (BPAC); Interlocking of Level Crossing Gates; Automatic Train protection System - Railways are implementing Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system in selected sections. Four works of total length of 640 RKMs at total cost of ` 1609 crores have been sanctioned in supplementary Works Program 2018-19 for extensive trials of Modern Train Control System. Electrification: 100% electrification of entire Indian Railways' routes is planned; All WAP7 -(Wide/BroadGauge AC Electric Passenger locomotives -Class7) -locomotives turned out by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works(CLW) are fitted with Hotel Load Converters which eliminated  use  of  diesel  alternators  thereby  reducing  noise  pollution and  carbon  emission;  Induction  of  High  Horse  Power  locomotives; Simulator Based Training for crew. Rolling Stock - Locomotives : Operation of twin WAP7 loco in push-pull modes  with  significant  reduction  in  journey  time;  Development  of locomotives with speed potential of 200 Kmph and aerodynamic cab. Coaches: Modern  coaches, namely Linke  Hofmann  Busch  (LHB) coaches  are  being  rapidly  inducted  into  the  system.  From  Financial Year  2018-19,  only  LHB  coaches  are  being  produced  on  Indian Railway;  India's  first  semi-high  speed  inter-city  train  set  -  Vande Bharat  Express  also  known  as  Train  18  -  designed  and  built  by Integrated Coach Factory(ICF), Chennai has commenced operation in February,  2019;  For  the  assistance  of  visually  impaired  travelers, Integrated  Braille  Signages,  i.e.  signages  superimposed  with  Braille scripts, are being provided in the newly manufactured coaches of IR. Retrofitment of the same in existing coaches has also been taken up in  a  phased  manner.  Continual  improvement  in  passenger  amenities viz. better interiors(Project Swarn/Utkrisht), ambience, etc.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Real Time Information System(RTIS) to provide real time information of trains at stations and  on  running trains is  being  implemented  on  Indian Railways. Various Apps and online facilities have been developed and improved upon for passengers  to book tickets, order food and details of  amenities  at  various  stations.    Also,  extensive  use  of  online monitoring  of  status  of  various  projects,  performance  metrics  of  the Railways  is  implemented  for  enhancing  digital  governance  on  the Railway.

Others:  Redevelopment  of  Railway  stations  is  planned  by  leveraging commercial  development  of  land  and  air  space  in  and  around  the station;  Proliferation  of  Mobile  chargers  at  stations  and  in  coaches; Proliferation of toilets at stations; Expansion of e-catering; Provision of environmentally  friendly  Bio-Toilets  on  passenger  trains;  Online  real time tracking of freight/parcel consignments; Wifi has been provided at 1615 stations.  Provision of Free-Wifi at all balance 4206  stations is targeted;  CCTVs  have  been  installed  in  1300  coaches  of  main  line passenger  trains  and  at  473  stations;  Provision  of  CCTV  at  6168 stations and 7020 coaches; Public Address System and GPS Clock in Balance  2004  stations;  Integrated  Passenger  Information  System  balance  182  stations;  Provision  of    escalators  and  lifts  at  select stations - as on date 669 escalators at 240 stations and 493 lifts at 214  stations  are  provided;  All  electrified  railway  stations  other  than those in gauge conversion have been provided with 100% LED lights. Also illumination levels at 673 stations have been improved to Airport standards; Use of green energy in the form of Solar Power Plants and Wind Power Plants are planned and are under phased implementation.

(c)    There  is  no  specific  head  meant  for  modernization  works  under Capital segment of Demand No. 82-Ministry of Railways. Modernisation is taken care of under various works in different Minor Heads (Plan Heads) involving new provision, renewal, replacement and upgradation etc.  Capital Outlay and utilization of funds during the last three years and the Budget Estimate(BE) for 2019-20 is given below :-

( ` in cr)

|            | Gross Budgetary Support   |   Internal Resources |   Extra Budgetary Resources |   Total |
|------------|---------------------------|----------------------|-----------------------------|---------|
| BE 2019-20 | 66105*                    |                10500 |                       83571 |  160176 |

*includes ` 267.64 cr from 'Nirbhaya Fund'

(d)    Modernisation  of  Railway  is  a  continuous  process  and  the initiatives are planned and implemented in a time bound manner.

*****