Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced a special initiative involving the production of approximately 2,500 new general passenger train coaches, with approval granted to manufacture an additional 10,000 such coaches.
Speaking to reporters at an event in the national capital, the union minister revealed that the production of 50 new Amrit Bharat trains is underway. Vaishnaw also said that the manufacturing process for another 150 Amrit Bharat trains has started.
In December 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two new Amrit Bharat trains: the Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and the Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express.
The Amrit Bharat train is an LHB (Linke-Hofmann-Busch) push-pull train, featuring locomotives at both ends to enhance acceleration.
Vaishnaw highlighted that over 10,000 special trains were operated across the country to manage the summer rush this year, emphasising that services, safety, and cleanliness have been priorities.
Regarding railway infrastructure, the minister said that 5,300 km of railway tracks were added last year, with approximately 800 km added so far this year. The rollout of the Kavach system is also progressing rapidly, he said.
The Kavach system is a technology-intensive solution designed to aid the loco pilot by automatically applying brakes if the pilot fails to do so within specified speed limits. It also ensures safe train operations during adverse weather conditions. The first field trials on passenger trains began in February 2016.
The system gained significant attention following the tragic triple-train collision in Balasore, Odisha, on June 2 last year, which resulted in nearly 300 deaths and around 1,000 injuries.
Addressing political issues, Vaishnaw criticized the opposition for demotivating the 12 lakh-strong railway workforce. He accused them of circulating old videos and campaigning against railway employees, amplifying minor problems.
“Our railway employees will derail the Opposition’s narratives”, he said.