Indian Railways has provided five lakh jobs in the last ten years and the recruitment process is underway for over one lakh jobs. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Indian Railways is in good financial condition and the government is working to further improve it. Mr. Vaishnaw stated this while replying to the discussion in the Lok Sabha on the working of the Ministry of Railways. He said passengers’ fares have not been increased since 2020 in the country and it is very cost-effective in comparison to other countries. The Minister added that the government has focused on bringing down rail accidents in the country. He said, there is a lot of focus on railway and passenger safety. Mr Vaishnaw said, many technical changes have been made and Indian Railways is constantly improving its services by taking big steps like longer rails, electronic interlocking and fog safety devices. He said, India has become a big exporter of railways. The Minister said, it is exporting metro coaches to Australia, railway coaches to UK, Saudi Arabia and France and operation equipment to Mexico, Spain, Germany and Italy. He said Bihar’s locomotives and wheels made in Tamil Nadu will run around the world. Mr Vaishnaw said, the production of locomotives and engines has reached one thousand four hundred. He said, India’s locomotive production is more than the entire US and Europe combined. The Minister said Indian Railways is continuously improving its infrastructure. He said 34 thousand kilometres of railway tracks have been built, which is more than the entire rail network of Germany. Mr Vaishnaw said 50 thousand kilometres of old tracks have been replaced with new tracks due to which there has been a big improvement in safety.
When the Minister was replying, the members from Congress, DMK, TMC and other opposition parties protested over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on Mahakumbh in Prayagraj.
Later, the House took up discussion on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti for 2025-26. However, the opposition continued their protest leading to the adjournment of the House for the day.