Rail expansion, ops safety, high-speed train on parliamentary panel agenda

The parliamentary panel on the railways has selected "ensuring safety in Indian Rail operations", expansion of its network in the North East and UTs, and high-speed train network as among the subjects the panel will take up in its tenure.

The 31-member committee headed by BJP MP C M Ramesh will also examine a number of other issues, including improvement of public facilities at the railway stations, increasing freight-related earnings and the development of dedicated freight corridors, passenger reservation system and the promotion of railway-based tourism, an official bulletin said.

Safety in the running of trains has always been a sensitive issue and the opposition parties have cited some recent accidents to accuse the government of compromising on this crucial aspect. However, the Railway Ministry has insisted that the overall accident rate has come down drastically during the Modi government's tenure.

High-speed or bullet trains is an ambitious agenda of the government, which has been working on its operationalisation between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, a project which has faced some problems, mostly related to land acquisition.

Optimum utilisation of the railway land, human resource management, upgradation of tracks and signaling sub-urban train services, energy efficiency evaluation of onboard services, review of rail infrastructure and projects in coastal regions, performance of production units and railway workshops and making the railways self-reliant through innovation and promotion of indigenous sources are among the other subjects the panel will examine.