Parliament has passed the Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 with the Rajya Sabha approving it today. The bill seeks to amend the Railways Act 1989 and is intended to enhance the power of the Railways Board and enhance the functioning and independence of the body. Lok Sabha has already given its nod to this Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 last year.
Replying to a discussion on the Bill, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the Indian railway is undergoing continuous reforms focussing on infrastructure modernisation, technology adoption and improved safety. He said, that in the last 11 years, 34 thousand new railway tracks have been laid down and 45 thousand kilometres of tracks have been electrified. Mr Vaishnaw said the government has accorded high priority to railway and passenger safety. He said, during the UPA regime only eight to ten thousand crore rupees were allocated towards safety measures but in the Modi government over one lakh crore rupees is being invested in this aspect. The Minister said unmanned railway crossings have been completely eliminated. Mr Vaishnaw highlighted that the annual rail accidents have come down significantly from 171 incidents to 30. He said that the government is not satisfied with this improvement and is taking more steps to curb it. He also talked about LHB coaches, fog safety devices and the anti-collision device KAVACH.
The Minister also rejected the opposition allegation saying that the Modi government believes in cooperative federalism and lots of projects are being executed in cooperation with the state government.
To a question on a recent incident at New Delhi railway stations, Mr Vaishnaw said, the probe into the matter is going on and the matter should not be politicised. The Minister rejected the allegation of opposition members saying that the CCTV cameras were not switched off after the New Delhi stampede. He said, that to prevent such incidents in future, the Ministry will set up a permanent holding area at 60 railway stations across the country. Mr Vaishnaw informed that as a pilot project, the work on five railway stations namely New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Ghaziabad has begun.
Earlier, initiating the discussion on the bill, Vivek K Tankha of Congress said that Indian railways carry not only just passengers but the hopes, dreams and struggles of billions of people. He said, for the growth of the railways it is necessary to grant full autonomy to the Railway Board and the railway should become a transparent organisation. Mr Tankha also demanded to restoration of the subsidies in Railways for senior citizens and journalists. Supporting the Bill, BJP MP Subhash Barala said, the aim of this bill is to make the administrative functioning of Railways more smooth, transparent and accountable. He said the bill intends to grant legal backing to the railway board which will bring comprehensive changes in the railway. Sushmita Dev of Trinamool Congress said the priority of the government should ensure the safety and security of passengers. Members from other political parties took part in the discussion.