 "Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ashwini, Vaishnaw, Railway minister")
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the government has decided to produce 50 more ‘Amrit Bharat’ trains. (Photo: PTI)
“Our focus is on railways, not reels,” said Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday, (August 1). He was responding to the Opposition’s criticism following recent railway accidents.
As the Opposition raised slogans of “Ashwini Vaishnaw haye haye” (down with Ashwini Vaishnaw) during a heated parliamentary session, Vaishnaw remarked, “Hum reel banane wale log nahi, mehnat karne wale log hain” (We are not people who make reels, we are people who work hard).
He continued, “When Mamata Banerjee was the Railway Minister and the accident numbers decreased from 0.24 to 0.19, they used to applaud. Now, when it has increased from 0.19 to 0.3, they blame us. Will this country run this way? Congress, with its troll army on social media, is spreading falsehoods. Are they trying to instill fear in the two crore people who travel by rail daily?”
The Railway Minister further said, “The average working and rest times of loco pilots are determined by a rule formulated in 2005. In 2016, the rules were amended, and loco pilots were given more facilities. All the running rooms – 558 in total – were made air-conditioned. Loco cabs vibrate extensively and heat up, and hence more than 7,000 loco cabs are air-conditioned. This was zero during the tenure of those who now show sympathy by making reels.”
Vaishnaw on railway infrastructure
The Railway Minister stated that the government plans to produce 2,500 general coaches soon and has a total target of manufacturing 10,000 coaches. “If we look at the ratio of non-AC (sleeper and general coaches) to AC coaches, two-thirds are non-AC and one-third are AC coaches. This composition of a train has always been there,” he said.
He also announced that the government has decided to produce 50 more ‘Amrit Bharat’ trains. He mentioned that a 1,000-km journey in Amrit Bharat trains costs Rs 400-450. In January this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched two Amrit Bharat trains – Maldah-Bengaluru and Darbhanga-Delhi.
In his speech, Vaishnaw also acknowledged the dedication of the 12 lakh railway workers who manage over 20,000 trains daily. The Railway Minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for addressing the issue of underinvestment in the railways with a significant budget allocation.
‘Derailment’ minister
Vaishnaw’s fiery response came after Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi criticised him for not taking moral responsibility for train accidents and called him the ‘derailment minister’.
“In the last two months, at least four goods trains have derailed and four people died in July. Ten people were killed in June due to the collision of the Kanchanjunga Express, in addition to thousands of injured. Despite all this, the Railway Minister has not taken any responsibility,” said Gaurav Gogoi.
He added, “In 2023, in Odisha, at least 300 people were killed. Who is going to take responsibility for that? In the last year and a half, train accidents have been rising, and the minister is busy with manufacturing. He is not a Railway Minister; he is a derailment minister.”
First Published: Aug 01 2024 | 4:55 PM IST
