New Delhi: The share of transport by railways has increased to 29% in 2022 after touching a low of 27%, minister Ashwini Vishnu claimed on Tuesday. He said the target is to take it to over 35 per cent in the next six years to reduce logistics costs and curb air pollution, while highlighting projects worth Rs 70,000 crore approved by the Cabinet in the last five months. has been done
Elaborating on the Cabinet’s recent decision to increase capacity on the Prayagraj-Mumbai corridor of railways, Vishnu said the government has intensified its focus on infrastructure development to meet the growing demand. He added that the total cargo generated in the country is estimated to touch 8,000 million tonnes (MTs) by 2032 as against the current 5,000 MT.
“A substantial portion of this increased freight will be transported by rail. The government is expanding all modes of transport. Rail is always a cheaper and cleaner mode of transport than road transport. said the minister.
In the last seven months, transportation by railways has grown by about 2%. From 993.5 MT last year to 1,014.4 MT this year.
Government records show that Share of rail in transportation of goods It has declined from 85 percent in 1951 to 60 percent in 1991 and only 27 percent in 2022. Over the past 20 years, roads have become the preferred means of transporting goods.
Talking to reporters, Vishnu said that the Railways has expedited the installation of the anti-collision system, Kavch. It has bid for contracts to install the system on 10,000 locomotives and lay track along 15,000 km of railway network. Vishnu said the railways has trained around 9,000 employees on the coach and the average time taken to install the system in locomotives has been reduced from earlier 14 days to barely 22 hours.
The minister said that he is confident of bringing the entire railway network under the Kavach system in the next 6-7 years.