Page 32 - NIS English 01-15 February, 2025

COVER STORY
RAILWAYS' TRANSFORMATION

Our government has
also given priority to the
expansion of railways in
the North East. Work is
being done at a fast pace
on the doubling of railway
lines, gauge conversion,
electrification, and
construction of new routes.

- Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister

two years for a railway project to get approval,
now a railway project in the country gets
approved in three or four or at most six months.
Such efforts have brought new momentum to
the railway works. A major campaign has been
launched to eliminate unmanned crossings
from broad gauge lines across the country.
Whereas before 2014, there were more than 8 ,
300 unmanned railway crossings in the country,
due to which accidents used to happen every
day. But now, with the elimination of unmanned
railway crossings on broad gauge lines,
accidents have also reduced.
Whether it is the work of laying railway
tracks or electrification work in the country, it
is happening at twice the speed than before.
By giving priority to the busiest routes of the
country, they are being freed from conventional misfortune of the country that an important system like railways,
trains. Pollution is also being reduced from which has a huge role in the life of a common man was politicised.
electric trains, diesel cost is also being saved India was handed over a huge railway network after independence.
and the speed of trains has also increased. If previous governments had shown the will, they could have
Obviously, these efforts to modernize the modernized the railways very fast, but for political gain, for populist
railways have also created new employment promises, the development of railways was sacrificed.
opportunities.
Looking at political selfishness, it was decided who would
become the railway minister and who would not. Political
THE IDEA OF BUILDING THE WORLD'S BEST
selfishness decided which train would run on which station.
RAIL NETWORK Political selfishness led to announcements of such trains in the
21st-century India may be working with new budget, which never ran. Thousands of unmanned crossings
thinking and new approach. But it was the
in the country were also left to their own fate. Safety of

30 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR | February 1-15, 2025