Minister Amit Shah gives update on rail developments
Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah has inaugurated development projects worth Rs.1,472 crore and flagged off the country’s first LNG-powered train from Sabarmati Railway Station in Ahmedabad, highlighting that several rail projects have been initiated on 27 Sept in the Sabarmati division, focusing on environmental sustainability, passenger amenities and the safety of rail passengers.
The newly inaugurated LNG-powered train will make a significant contribution to environmental conservation in the years to come.
Overall, 7,188 km of rail operations were electrified in a single year in 2023–24, or 99.6 per cent of the railway network has now been electrified. The remaining 0.4 per cent will also be completed soon, Shah said in an update on rail projects.
He also inaugurated a WAG-12 Maintenance Shed being established for the maintenance of railway locomotive engines at a cost of Rs.700 crore, the Ministry of Home said.
The ‘Kavach’ train protection system has been introduced on the Sabarmati–Kalol–Sabarmati rail section at a cost of Rs.48 crore to enhance safety. In addition, works have commenced for the implementation of ‘Kavach’ on the Ahmedabad–Palanpur and Ahmedabad–Samakhiali rail sections, as well as the doubling of the Sabarmati–Sarkhej railway line.
He said that the successful trial of the country’s first double-stack long-haul container train from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai, to Vadodara has been completed.
An 11,000 km corridor is now being converted into a four-lane network, which will significantly facilitate traffic movement towards Delhi–Howrah and Delhi–Guwahati, said the Minister. Fiinews.com
