Railways to spend 111 lakh crore on infra development at stations

Bengaluru: Naresh Salecha, Member Finance, Railway Board and ex-officio secretary to Government of India, on his visit to Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal at Baiyyappanahalli announced that the new terminal to be inaugurated shortly was developed with all modern facilities like air condition system and green initiatives. The lounge, rest rooms and other amenities provided in the terminal would give airport-like feel to passengers, he said.

Talking about the performance of Indian Railways, Salecha said that the freight loading in each month from September 2020 to present is considerably high, despite the nationwide lockdown. He added that the earning potential in the passenger sector which was impacted due to Covid-19 pandemic and consequent health protocol is now picking up. He said that the railways is concentrating on massive investment on infrastructure to develop the railways stations in the country with state-of-the art facilities by 2050.

Quoting the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) Salecha stated that Rs.111 lakh crore would be invested for development of infrastructure in the country and the share of the railways would be Rs13 lakh crore.

He pointed out that there was a visible improvement in the punctuality, safety and cleanliness of trains in recent times. He stated that the Kisan Rail introduced to facilitate farmers for transportation of agricultural and perishable goods is getting good patronage.