Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Narendra Modi government had transformed the Indian Railways, highlighting the expansion of electrification, reduction in diesel consumption and modernisation of railway infrastructure, while accusing the Congress of doing little beyond scams and corruption during its tenure.
Shah was speaking at Sabarmati Railway Station in Gujarat after flagging off the country's first LNG-powered train and a WAG-12 electric locomotive, besides inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for several railway projects in the Sabarmati division.
According to PTI, Shah said initiatives such as dedicated freight corridors, rapid rail systems and premium stations had been started under the Modi government. He also said India had joined a select group of countries with the introduction of hydrogen-powered trains.
The railway projects launched at Sabarmati involved an investment of Rs 1,472 crore and were aimed at improving passenger convenience, safety and connectivity, Shah said.
“Today marks the launch of various Indian Railways projects within the Sabarmati Division. These initiatives address environmental concerns, enhance passenger convenience, and bolster safety,” Shah said.
Among the projects launched were line-doubling works, the Kavach train protection system, an automatic signalling system and a WAG-12 electric locomotive maintenance shed.
Shah highlighted the Railways' efforts to reduce its dependence on diesel and increase electrification. He said diesel consumption had fallen from 293 crore litres in 2015-16 to 108 crore litres in 2024-25 and would be brought down to zero by 2030.
“This is a massive achievement that often goes unnoticed,” he said.
He said annual railway track electrification had increased from 75 km in 2010-11 to 7,188 km in 2023-24, with 99.6 per cent of the railway network now electrified.
“We will complete the remaining 0.3 per cent as well,” Shah said.
Shah also said 97 per cent of bio-toilets had been installed in trains under the Modi government, while 87 per cent of LHB coaches were produced in India during its tenure. He said the railway safety budget had increased by 67 per cent and locomotive production capacity by 66 per cent.
Shah also said the trial of the first long double-stack container train from Mumbai to Vadodara had been successfully completed. The initiative, he said, would help address the shortage of tracks for goods movement, double vehicle capacity and meet requirements by 2040.
He said around 11,000 km of railway corridors were being converted into four-track networks, which would improve traffic movement.
Shah also contrasted the railway record of the Modi government with that of the Congress.
“The Congress speaks nonsense. The people of the country should ask them to discuss with figures. You (Congress) did nothing except fraud, scams and corruption worth Rs 12 lakh crore. But no one has been able to accuse Modi of corruption of even four annas in 12 years,” he said, according to PTI.
He said the government had strengthened the concepts of Make in India and a self-reliant India through its railway initiatives.
Shah said Gujarat's railway budget allocation had risen from Rs 589 crore during the 2009-14 period to Rs 17,366 crore in 2026-27, PTI reported.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and senior railway officials were present at the programme.
Earlier in the day, Shah attended a programme in Ahmedabad marking the 92nd birthday of Acharya Shri Padmasagar Surishwar Ji Maharaj.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
