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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Now, the manufacturing of Vande Bharat will take place in Haryana’s Sonipat, Maharashtra’s Latur, and Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday thanked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allocating a capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore for the Indian Railways in the Union Budget 2023-24. This is the highest-ever outlay. Makeover of 1,275 railway stations and production of Vande Bharat production at manufacturing centers in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh is on the cards, said Vaishnaw.
Addressing a press conference at the Railway Ministry in the national capital, Vaishnaw said, “Every section of society got something from the Union Budget announced earlier in the day.”
Vaishnaw, who is also Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology Minister said that the railway has been facing budget constrains for a long time and the generous allocation of Rs 2.41 lakh crore capital expenditure will aid its modernization and growth. The cash inflow will help the Railways focus on tourism and development and refurbishment of over 1000 stations under the Amrit Bharat scheme.
He added that several stations of big and small cities are in different stages of progress.
In order to boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to connect different parts of the country, the government has planned to increase the production of Vande Bharat Express trains, the minister said.
The Minister said, “The production of Vande Bharat Express trains will be further ramped up. Now, the manufacturing of Vande Bharat will take place in Haryana’s Sonipat, Maharashtra’s Latur, and Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli.”
He further said that all the Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured within “our own factories and workshops by our own employees”.
At present, the production of Vande Bharat Express trains takes place at Chennai’s Integral Coach Factory (ICF) only.
The Union Minister said that Hydrogen-Powered trains will roll out by December 2023.
He said that the Hydrogen train will be fully designed and manufactured in India, and will first run on the heritage corridor Kalka-Shimla route and its likes.
Vaishnaw also said that in line with the government’s green energy mission, the railways will install ultra mega solar power plants to cut the dependency on electricity.
He also said that 85 percent of railway electrification has been completed.
To boost connectivity with the combination of economic and social corridors, the Minister said that the government has planned to work on the different infrastructural corridors for hilly areas, tribal areas, Janjati Gaurav Corridor for tribal areas, energy corridor, Sagar mala corridor for ports, cement corridors, etc.
The Minister stated that the work on the Mumbai- Ahmedabad Bullet train will be expedited.
He said the work was delayed as the previous Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray had denied permission for several works. “Now work will be expedited on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project,” he added.
