No question of privatising railways, focus on affordable service: Vaishnaw

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said there is no question of privatising the railways and asserted the national transporter's focus is on providing affordable service to all.

The aim is to ensure people can travel up to 1,000 kilometres in comfort in less than Rs 400, the railway minister said here. "In the next five years, the railways will undergo a complete makeover. Trains like Vande Bharat, Namo Bharat, deployment of Kavach train protection mechanism will lead this change.

This is the era of transformation of railways," he said while addressing the Railway Protection Force Raising Day event here. "There is no question of privatisation of the railways. I urge those spreading such rumours to remember the railways and defence are two backbones of India and must be spared all kinds of politics.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured the politicisation of the railways has stopped. The focus is on performance, safety, technology and providing affordable service to all," Vaishnaw said.

The railway budget currently stands at Rs 2.5 lakh crore and 31,000 kilometres of new tracks have been laid in the last 10 years, which is more than the network of France, he said.

Speaking about the RPF, he said Rs 35 crore has been earmarked for upgrading the force's zonal centres, while various demands pertaining to service rules and promotions are under consideration.