Rail Analysis India June Digital Magazine 2018 | Page 52

54 | Article
Four-Year Achievements & Initiatives of
the Ministry of Railways
Images Credit : Piyush Goyal Twitter Handle
U
nion Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri
Piyush Goyal addressed the media on the
four-year achievements of the ministries
under his charge. Shri Goyal was joined by
Minister of State of Communication (I/c) &
Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha and Minister of
State of Railways, Shri Rajen Gohain (through
Guwahati VC link), and also Shri Ashwani Lohani, Chairman
Railway Board on the occasion.
Shri Goyal also interacted via video conferencing with
media present at 12 cities - Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Chennai,
Guwahati, Imphal, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Patna,
Raipur, Ranchi.
Shri Piyush Goyal released a booklet highlighting the
achievements in the Railways and Coal Ministries in the past
four years. Two mobile Applications – the ‘Rail Madad’ and
‘Menu on Rails’ were also launched on the occasion.
Shri Goyal reiterated Government’s resolve of Service to
the Nation under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi inspired by Mahatma Gandhi,
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Article Source : PIB
whose 150th birth anniversary will be celebrated in 2019.
In the past four years, the Government has made safety the
top priority of Indian Railways keeping in mind the philosophy
of ‘Saaf Niyat, Sahi Vikas’. Safety has reigned supreme with
consequential train accidents reduced to 62% from 118 in
2013-14 to 73 in 2017-18. Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh
(RRSK) fund of Rs. 1 Lakh Cr has been allocated for safety
expenditure over 5 years. Addressing the issue of unsafe
crossings on a war footing, 5,479 Unmanned Level Crossings
have been eliminated in the last four years. 1.1 lakh safety
posts are also being filled-up through recruitment amongst
other measures to improve safety.
Laying the foundations of infrastructure for a New India,
there has been a quantum leap in capital expenditure, with
the average annual capital expenditure in last 4 years being
more than double of average during 2009-14. Railways is
connecting India at a faster pace with a 59% increase in the
average pace of commissioning new lines from 4.1 km (2009-
14) to 6.53 Kms per day (2014-18).
Commuter travel in urban India received a boost with major
investments earmarked for Bengaluru suburban system (Rs.
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