Record Outlay of Rs 1,10,055 Crore for Railways, of which Rs1,07,100 Crore for Capital Expenditure

Railways has now highest ever total Plan capex of Rs. 2,15,058 Crores this year with Rs. 7,500 Crores from internal resources ,Rs. 1,00,258 Crores from extra budgetary resources and Rs. 1,07,100 Crores coming from capital expenditure allocation given in the general budget .

In BE 2020-21, the total capex was Rs. 161042 Crores. The Capex in BE 2021-22 is Rs.54,016 Crores (33%) higher than BE 2020-21.

Funds allocated will go to boost Atma Nirbhar Bharat Mission and utilized towards completion of vital infrastructure projects, capacity building passengers amenities and safety enhancement

Western dedicated freight corridor (DFC) and Eastern DFC expected to be commissioned by June 2022 .Future DFC projects namely East Coast Corridor, East-West Corridor and North-South Corridor to be undertaken as well.

Introduction of more Vista dome LHB coaches on tourist routes

Indigenously developed automatic train protection system for high density network and highly utilized networks

Indian Railways has received a record outlay of ` 1,10,055 crore, of which ` 1,07,100 crore is for capital expenditure. This record outlay was announced by the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2021-22 in the Parliament today. Indian Railways have prepared a National Rail Plan for India – 2030. The Plan is to create a ‘future ready’ Railway system by 2030.

Sitharaman said, “Bringing down the logistic costs for our industry is at the core of our strategy to enable ‘Make in India’.” The Finance Minister announced that Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and Eastern DFC are expected to be commissioned by June 2022.

Further, the Finance Minister proposed the following additional initiatives to be taken up:

1. The Sonnagar – Gomoh Section (263.7 km) of Eastern DFC will be taken up in PPP mode in 2021-22. Gomoh-Dankuni section of 274.3 km will also be taken up in short succession.
2. Future dedicated freight corridor projects namely East Coast corridor from Kharagpur to Vijayawada, East-West Corridor from Bhusaval to Kharagpur to Dankuni and North-South corridor from Itarsi to Vijayawada will be undertaken. Detailed Project Reports will be undertaken in the first phase.
3. 100% electrification of Broad-Gauge routes will be completed by December, 2023. Broad Gauge Route Kilometers (RKM) electrified is expected to reach 46,000 RKM i.e., 72% by end of 2021 from 41,548 RKM on 1^st Oct 2020.

Passenger Convenience and Safety

Smt. Sitharaman also proposed following measures for passenger convenience and safety:

1. Introduction of the aesthetically designed Vista Dome LHB coach on tourist routes to give a better travel experience to passengers.
2. High density network and highly utilized network routes of Indian railways will be provided with an indigenously developed automatic train protection system that eliminates train collision due to human error.