Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday said his government’s focus was not just to bring bullet train to India but also to increase speed of all kinds of Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Express and Mail trains so that passengers could reach their destinations faster.
“Bullet train is one big project that we are working on…Feasibility studies are being done for Ahmedabad-Mumbai route with the help of Japan and Delhi- Chennai route with the help of China. The project is on the right track. But such big projects take time as a lot of investment and technical expertise is required,’’ Mr. Prabhu said at Aaj Tak’s Manthan programme organised to mark one year of Narendra Modi government.
Mr. Prabhu pointed out that his government was also working on a plan to improve speed of all kinds of trains, besides improving schedule of freight trains that was backbone of Indian Railways. “For freight, which gives two-third of our revenues, we are building dedicated freight corridor that will not only improve our income but also decongest our tracks, thus leading to more efficiency,” he added.
Mr. Prabhu also said apart from modernisation of India’s railway network, focus was also on providing better amenities to almost 3 crore passengers that use railways every day. “We have also created a customer service portal through which passengers can get their grievances redressed while accountability of our staff will also be fixed,” he added.
The Railway Minister further said his ministry has come out with a new policy where anyone can develop a railway station. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to provide airport-like facilities at railway stations…Private participation will help in creating world-class railway stations. As a pilot project, we will soon be handing over development of at least two railway stations to private parties…It will prove to be role model for other developers,” Mr. Prabhu added.
