Union Minister, Piyush Goyal today announced a capital expenditure allocation worth Rs. 1.58 lakh crore for the Indian Railways, making it the highest ever for the national transporter, in an endeavor to put its flagging revenues back on the track.
Goyal who is also the Railway minister told media that until now, 2018-19 has been the safest year for the Indian railways.. He added that all unmanned level crossings on the broad gauge network have been totally eradicated.
Capital expenditure programme of Railways at an all-time high of Rs. 1.58 lakh crore in the next financial year has been announced by the government. In addition, Vande Bharat Express- an indigenously built semi-high speed train will give travelers a world-class experience with speed, service, and safety.
The minister said, "This major leap incompletely developed technology by our engineers will give an impetus to the Make in India programme and also generate jobs in the country”.
Goyal also told that the operating ratio for the current financial year has been increased to 96.2% and in the next fiscal the aim would be to have it at 95 %.
No Railway fare hike was announced in the Interim Budget 2019 as the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held in April-May.
The allocation is around 8% more than last year’s Rs 1.48 lakh crore however the infusion of investment by the Narendra Modi government to improve the country’s outdated railway infrastructure makes it around 148 % hike in the capex since 2014.
The Finance Minister also said, “Infrastructure is the backbone of any country’s development and quality of life – whether it is airways, railways or highways or even digi-ways, we have gone beyond incremental growth to achieve transformative achievements.
