Government investing Rs 1.14 lakh crore per year for enhancing safety: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi [India], March 11 : Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday that the BJP-led government had substantially increased investment in rail safety compared to the Congress-led UPA government.
Responding to the debate on Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the Rajya Sabha, he said investment in railway safety has surged from Rs 8,000 crore under the previous administration to Rs 1.14 lakh crore every year.
The minister said that rail accidents have come down significantly and the government is doing more. He talked about LHB coaches, fog safety devices and the anti-collision device KAVACH.
Rajya Sabha passed the bill through voice vote. It had been passed by Lok Sabha earlier.
The new Bill seeks to replace colonial-period provisions, and the provision for the Railway Board has been incorporated into the Railways Act, 1989.
Vaishnaw rejected accusations against the government and said it is a "simplification bill". He said the bill is designed to simplify existing laws and does not diminish the powers of state governments
"If all the provisions are in one law instead of two laws, then it is a simpler structure. This was done with this feeling," he said.
"If we compare the power that the general managers, DRMs had in the zonal offices of the railways ten years ago with the power they had today...It promotes decentralization by granting full authority to general managers in railway zones to approve projects up to Rs 1,000 crore. This is empowerment. This is the kind of decentralization that has happened in the last ten years."
He said many projects are being done in collaboration with the state governments.
Referring to states such as Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, he said substantial budget provisions have been made in non-BJP ruled states also.
Speaking about the railway infrastructure, he said since 2014, 34,000 kilometers of new railway tracks have been built, which is more than the number of railway tracks in a prosperous country like Germany.
The minister said that in the last eleven years, 3.10 lakh toilets have been built in railway coaches.
"Today, the situation is much better than that, and there is continuous improvement in the toilets in all the new rolling stocks that are being manufactured," he added.
Hitting back at the opposition parties over their allegations about job creation, the minister said during the UPA government, 4,11,000 people were given employment in Railways and the number has gone up to 5,02,000 under the BJP-led government.
He said the number of train accidents has been declining. "The annual (average of) accidents, which used to be 171, has come down to 30 today. Even after reaching this level today, we are not satisfied. We will have to make more efforts. Just whitewashing does not work, as was done in your time. Today we will have to go to the root cause and solve it," he said, hitting out at the opposition.
On anti-collision technology Kavach, he said that, the version 4 of Kavach was approved by RDSO in July last year and is being implemented.
"Those who were saying that two percent work has been done and it will continue at the same pace - no, this is not Modi ji's way of working. I say again with full responsibility that what rich countries did in twenty years, we will complete it in these five years," he said.
Opposition MPs raised issues related to cooperative federalism, railways safety, and employment during the debate. They alleged the bill will lead to centralisation and reduce the power of state governments.