Indian railways expand with additional coaches and passenger trains

Ashwini Vaishnaw, The Union Minister has announced a significant enhancement to the country’s rail network, with the production of 2,500 new general passenger train coaches and approval for another 10,000 coaches. The minister also highlighted ongoing efforts to improve service quality, safety, and cleanliness across railway operations. After talking to reporters in the national capital, New Delhi, Ashwini Vaishnaw said that production has started on 50 more Amrit Bharat trains, following the successful launch of two such trains last year by PM Narendra Modi, which took place from Maldah and Darbhanga.

The Prime Minister initiated two new Amrit Bharat trains – Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express in December 2023. Ashwini Vaishnaw also said the manufacturing process for another 150 Amrit Bharat trains has also started. The Amrit Bharat train is an LHB (Linke-Hofmann-Busch) push-pull train with engines at both ends for improved acceleration. Furthermore, he spoke on the rollout of the Kavach system and said that it is also being done at a fast pace.

They have already started to manufacture 50 more Amrit Bharat trains. The process of manufacturing 150 more Amrit Bharat trains has also been started. In 2023 around 5300 km of new tracks were added. More than 800 km of tracks have been added, this year as well, he said. Kavach has been designed to assist locomotive pilots in avoiding Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) and over speeding while also supporting train operations during times of adverse weather conditions like dense fog. By automatically applying brakes, when necessary, the system guarantees better control over train speed and prevents potential accidents. Last year on the 2^nd of June, There was much debate around the anti-collision system in light of the horrific triple-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore, which claimed the lives of almost 300 passengers while leaving about 1,000 injured. By the opposition, who demanded his resignation.