New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday informed that the Kavach rollout is being done at a fast pace to provide better safety to the passengers.
He also informed that approval has been given for manufacturing 10,000 general coaches for the convenience of passengers.
Informing about the development of general coaches during the signing of a CSR agreement with Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) and Airbus under the umbrella of MoU at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said, "Around 2,500 general coaches are being made under a special drive and approval has been given for 10,000 additional coaches to provide smooth and comfortable journey to common passengers," Railway Minister pointed out.
Talking about railways and passenger safety, he said that the rollout of Kavach is being done at a fast pace to provide better safety. "Railways has been working in a focused way. We are working on services, railways safety and cleanliness to provide better facilities to the passengers," Vaishnaw said.
Two Amrit Bharat trains were launched from West Bengal's Malda and Bihar's Darbhanga last year and now, manufacturing of 50 more Amrit Bharat trains has begun. In addition, the process to manufacture 150 other Amrit Bharat trains has also been initiated, the minister added.
The Railway Minister further informed that modernisation of railways is being done rapidly for which, around 5300 km of new tracks were added last year. We have already laid 800 km of tracks and are set to achieve this year's target of laying the new tracks.
"Railways is running about 10,000 special trains this summer season to cater to the extra rush during the peak time," the minister added.
The Railways had earlier said that in the financial year 2024-25, Railways plan to manufacture 2605 General coaches including Amrit Bharat General coaches, 1470 Non- AC Sleeper including Amrit Bharat Sleeper coaches, 323 SLR coaches including Amrit Bharat SLR Coaches, 32 High Capacity Parcel Van and 55 pantry cars.
In the financial year 2025-26, 2710 General coaches including Amrit Bharat General coaches, 1910 Non AC Sleeper including Amrit Bharat Sleeper coaches, 514 SLR Coaches including Amrit Bharat SLR coaches, 200 High Capacity Parcel Van and 110 Pantry cars will be manufactured.
"The demand for rail service is dynamic and changes depending upon seasonal variations and growth of passenger traffic. The requirement of the coaches is based on these factors and gets included in the annual Coach Production Programme. The production of coaches normally commensurate with the requirement," Railways said.
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