NEW DELHI: There were one and two accidents or derailments on an average each day during the tenures of Mamata Banerjee and Lalu Prasad as railway ministers, respectively, Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Rajya Sabha on Monday, amid attacks from opposition over recent incidents of rail mishaps.
Replying to the debate on working of railway ministry, Vaishnaw said in 2005-06, when RJD supremo Lalu was the minister, there were 698 accidents and derailments. “During TMC chief Banerjee’s tenure, there were 395 accidents and derailments, and when Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge was railway minister, the number of accidents and derailments were 38,” he said.
“Where there was once an average of one accident per day, today the number has been reduced to just 30 accidents per year. Even if we include 43 derailments, the total stands at 73. This means that the number, which was previously around 700, has now dropped to less than 80, a remarkable 90% reduction,” Vaishnaw said.
He said around 100 locomotives would be exported soon from Marhaura factory in Bihar’s Saran district. Though Lalu Prasad had announced setting up of the factory, it remained “inactive” and work began only after PM Narendra Modi came to office, the railway minister said.
‘Made in Bihar’ locomotives will soon be reaching destinations across the world, he said. Reading out the list of countries importing trains and locomotives from India, he said while metro coaches are being exported to Australia, train bogies are being shipped to UK, Saudi Arabia, France and Australia. Similarly, India is exporting propulsion systems to France, Mexico, Romania, Spain, Germany and Italy, he added.
He said railway finances are in good condition with continuous improvement efforts underway. The national transporter has successfully overcome Covid pandemic-related challenges, and both passenger and cargo traffic are showing growth, Vaishnaw said. “Railways is fulfilling its expenses from its own income because of good performance… Overall, the financial condition is good and we are trying to improve it on a constant basis,” he said.
The minister said the cost of train travel per km is around Rs 1.4 but passengers are charged only 73 paise. He added that this year, 1,400 locomotives were produced, exceeding the combined production of US and Europe, and by March 31, Indian railways will be among the world’s top three freight carriers with 1.6 billion tonnes of cargo.
Responding to charges of railways reducing general and non-AC coaches, Vaishnaw said the number of general coaches is being increased to 2.5 times that of AC coaches. “Under the current production plan, 17,000 non-AC coaches are scheduled for manufacturing,” he added.
