Three years of Modi Sarkar: 'Rs one lakh crore for railway safety fund'

NEW DELHI: With railways plagued by repeated derailments, Union Railway minister Suresh Prabhu said that a special safety fund of Rs 1 lakh crore that will cover upgradation of tracks and signalling besides elimination of unmanned level crossings has been allotted.

"We have invested Rs 1 lakh crore for railways safety plan. The plan includes elimination of all level crossings, strengthening of the track and bridges among others," Prabhu said in an interview to All India Radio.

"We have also acquired best technology for the early detection of the track fracture. The early detection can aid in minimise or prevent the damage," Prabhu added.

He also said that the government has also approved the formation of an independent rail regulatory authority to determine tariffs ensuring fair play and level playing field for private players keen on investment in the railways.

"Considered to be the biggest and first-of-its-kind reform in the rail sector, setting up of

Rail Development Authority

(RDA) is meant to improve the services offered to passengers, provide comfort to investors and enhance transparency and accountability," the railway minister said.

On problems faced by Indian railways, he said, "When I took over as Railway minister, we had three major problems and out of which most have been resolved. The railway lines were overused, congested and only 42 per cent of lines were electrified. 16 per cent of railway network was handling 60 per cent of traffic. As such we decided to allot 16,500 km of doubling and tripling of railway lines on same route. We also decided to electrify all broad-gauge lines next five years and upgrade metre-gauge lines to broad gauge."

He also said that two out of promised four new categories of trains - Humsafar, Tejas, Antyodaya Express and Uday are operational now.

"Tejas will be launched in June this year while Uday will take little bit of time," he said.

On May 26, the Narendra Modi will complete three years as Prime Minister. Narendra Modi took the top job riding high on the aspirations and expectations of people, who waited for 'achhe din' - the slogan which propelled the BJP to become the first political party in 30 years to win a majority on its own in the

Lok Sabha

.