The Lok Sabha has taken up the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 for consideration and passing. Moving the Bill, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the Bill is intended to bring more efficiency to the Railways sector. He said, in the last ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi there has been significant development and transformative changes in the Indian Railways. Mr Vaishnaw said, 10 years before the Budget of Railways was around 29 thousand crore rupees and now it is two lakh 52 thousand crore rupees. He said 44 thousand kilometres of railway network were electrified in the past 10 years.

Speaking on the Bill, Manoj Kumar of Congress expressed apprehensions that the Bill will open up Railways to privatisation. He also raised the issue of high ticket fares in Vande Bharat trains.

Ravi Kishan of the BJP highlighted the achievements of Railways under the Modi Government. He said the corruption-ridden image of the Railways has been reformed since 2014. Neeraj Maurya of the Samajwadi party also spoke on the Bill. Discussion is underway.