Railways to acquire new rolling stock worth Rs 3.14 trillion in FY24

According to the national transporter's annual rolling stock programme for 2023-24, the railway's ministry expects to acquire new rolling equipment worth more than Rs 3.14 trillion in the forthcoming fiscal year, following a record budgetary allocation (FY24). Among the tentative items in this plan are 300 Vande Metro trains, 1,000 eight-coach Vande Bharat trains, 35 hydrogen trains, and locomotives for freight augmentation in FY24. According to sources, priority assets to be purchased in FY24 will cost close to Rs 1.9 trillion. Though big-ticket items will be released at a slower pace, construction of some of them, such as Vande Metros and hydrogen trains, will begin in FY24. Between tenders, grant contracts, and these new assets, the railways forecast net capital expenditure on rolling equipment to be Rs 47,000 crore in the 2019 fiscal year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Rs 2.4 trillion budgetary allocation for the ministry in her Budget speech. While the railways will not borrow from the market in the coming fiscal year, several of these new initiatives will be supported in part through debt. Due to lower passenger traffic under Covid-19, the national transporter's concentration was primarily on freight, but it has moved its focus back to boosting passenger amenities and comfort. The railways would spend Rs 65,000 crore on 1,000 eight-coach Vande Bharat trains, which will be paid for with Rs 35,000 crore in budgetary money and Rs 30,000 crore in debt. However, the initiative has only gotten token funding of Rs 10,000 in the FY24 rolling stock estimates. Railways intends to purchase 10,000 Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches for Rs 27,500 crore, with an equal split of capital expenditure and borrowings now approved. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also announced the launch of Vande Metros, which he aims to extend out across the country to provide commuters with a world-class inter-city shuttle-like experience. Three hundred rakes of these metros are planned to cost Rs 22,500 crore. The railways intends to purchase 2,000 locomotives for Rs 36,000 crore in the freight segment. Siemens was just given a contract to manufacture locomotives with 9000 horsepower. For the following fiscal year, approximately 50,000 advanced technology freight waggons and 51,000 ordinary freight waggons are also planned. This comes just a year after it announced a plan to purchase 90,000 waggons to improve freight loading. According to the National Rail Plan, trains plan to have the biggest modal share in the movement of goods by 2030, which will necessitate major investment in infrastructure, according to experts. Also Read BP-Reliance's MJ deep-water project soon to be completed Chief associations call on the government to repair roads