High Speed trains, Dedicated Freight Corridors and modernisation of 19000 kilometres of track, are among the ambitious projects to be undertaken by the Indian Railways in the next five years at a cost of over 8.2 lakh crore rupees. These are the recommendations of the Expert Group Chaired by Sam Pitroda, submitted to Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi in New Delhi. These also include a High speed railway line between Ahmedabad and Mumbai with 300 kilometers per hour speed.
Modernisation of 100 major stations and Radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking systems for wagons, coaches and locomotives are also on the anvil. Speaking on the occasion, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said, to ensure safety, modernisation is a requirement and the roadmap laid out by the Expert Group looks at a future where the Indian Railways contributes to two per cent of the country's GDP.
Mr. Trivedi said, for various ambitious plans of the government including the Food Security Bill, fast movement of goods is a necessity. The Expert group has also recommended to develop Public-Private Partnership models to attract private investment to augment core capabilities including High speed railway lines, elevated rail corridors, private freight terminals and Loco and coach manufacturing.
Mr. Sam Pitroda, the Chairman of the Expert Group who attended through video conferencing from Chicago, said the Railways would strengthen 11,250 bridges to sustain higher load at higher speed, eliminate level crossings and implement automatic signalling system. He said, 15 focus areas of the Railways have been identified for revamping. He further said, the recommendations include that the Railway Board be reorganized along business discipline and reflect the Chairman as CEO.
