On Track for Capacity Expansion.. Railways gets Rs 1.48 lakh cr; 36,000 km to be renewed, 600 stations to be modernised
New Delhi, February 1
With special focus on infrastructure and safety measures, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today announced a capital expenditure of Rs 1,48,528 crore for the Railways for 2018-19, which is around 22 per cent more than the targeted expenditure for the current year.
Making...
more... the Budget announcements for the Railways, Jaitley said: "Most of this money will be spent on capacity expansion, since it is a priority for the national transporter." With the projected fund allocations, the Finance Minister has proposed a target of doubling 18,000 km of lines and said gauge conversion is underway to eliminate capacity constraints.
For the purpose, this year a fund of Rs 651 crore has been allocated. But a close scrutiny of the expenditure for this year revealed that the Railways failed to spend even half of budgeted Rs 2,542.60 crore. The 92-year-old practice of a separate Railway Budget was discontinued from last year and was merged with the Union Budget.
Jaitley said 36,000 km of rail track renewal has been targeted in the coming year while 4,267 unmanned railway crossings on broad gauge routes are to be eliminated in the next two years. For the purpose, the minister has allocated Rs 11,450 crore, which is about 10 per cent more than the current fiscal.
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