Railways spending Rs 1.14 lakh crore per year on safety: Ashwini Vaishnaw in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Insisting that the number of accidents in the railway network have come down drastically over the years, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said the government will invest over Rs 1 lakh crore per year for safety works.

Replying to the discussion on the Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that due to various interventions, the annual railway accident rate has come down to 30 from 171 incidents earlier.

He said various initiatives are being taken for technology upgradation and asserted that the Modi government has achieved more in upgrading the Railways infrastructure in 11 years than in 60 years of Congress rule.

The Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 was passed in the Upper House with a voice vote. The legislation was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December last year. Opposition parties members walked out protesting the minister's reply.

"In the UPA regime, investment to enhance safety used to be in the range of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore. Today we are investing a sum of over Rs 1.14 lakh crore every year on enhancing safety," Vaishnaw said.

Highlighting the steps that have been taken to upgrade tracks and safety devices, the minister said the government has completely eliminated safety issues at 9,000 unmanned level crossings by either putting in personnel or by constructing either an underpass or flyover.

Over the reduction of employment opportunities, Vaishnaw said during the UPA tenure 4.11 lakh jobs were given, under the NDA rule, 5.02 lakh jobs have been given.

Vaishnaw said two exams were conducted by the railways recently. "One was for Group D, in which 1.26 crore candidates appeared. It was conducted for 68 days in 133 shifts in 211 cities in 726 centres in 15 languages," he said, adding that it was a transparent process with no paper leaks.

Vaishnaw rejected the apprehensions raised by the opposition parties that the Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 will increase centralisation and reduce the power of the state governments. He noted that the Bill seeks to enhance the functioning and independence of the Railway Board.

With the inclusion of the Railway Board under the 1989 Railway Act, the appointment, qualifications, tenure and criteria for the Chairman and members of the Board will be the responsibility of the central government.

The Bill also includes provisions to appoint an independent regulator that will oversee matters like fare determination and ensure the competitiveness of the Railways.