Ashwini Vaishnaw has set fresh targets for the calendar year 2024-2025. He is the Union Minister of Railways for the second consecutive term. On Thursday, Vaishnaw conducted the first meeting. The minister is focusing on increasing coaches for better accommodation and reducing over-accommodation.
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What was the agenda of the meeting?
The officials have informed that the meeting was held with general managers and divisional railway managers for all the zones. Ashwini has set a target of enhancing the production of sleeper-class coaches and completing 2,500 such coaches by the year’s end. The decision was taken as over 400 million people traveled in the Indian Railways in the first twenty-one days of April this year, which is identified as the highest the Indian Railway has witnessed.
Increase in no. of passengers
The officials have stated that over 411.6 million passengers travelled during April 1 and April 21 this year out of which 33.8 million passengers travelled on April 20 and April 21. Around 370 million passengers traveled in the same period in 2023 and 35 million in 2019, a year before the pandemic took over the country.
Production of coaches to be boosted
The Railway Minister has asked the officials to focus on enhancing the production of General class coaches and introduce clone express trains on routes with heavier demand. When there is a significant demand for tickets on a specific route, an additional train, known as clone express will be added, and is scheduled to run along the same route as the original train to accommodate the increased passenger traffic.
Vande Metro coming soon
The official said the government is keen on making Vande Metro operations very soon. The production of two Vande Metro coaches has been completed and the trails are expected to start very soon. Vande Metro is aimed to cater to intercity passengers covering up to 250 km. It will contain 12 coaches and seating like a metro train and may extend up to 16 coaches according to the demand.
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Kavach to play important role in safety
To boost safety, these trains will be equipped with the Kavach system, which will play a pivotal role in preventing collisions. However, each coach will be equipped with sensors for fire and smoke detection and will contain a wheelchair-accessible lavatory in coaches.
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This Article has been written by Ms Vijaya Pramodini SK, an aspiring journalist, who is currently dedicated to her studies in Journalism and communication. With a keen eye for authenticity, she strives to uncover and present the real facts, embodying the principles of ethical journalism.
