FM reviews Railway Ministry's capex plan, asks to expedite 'Kavach' system

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday reviewed the capex plan of the Railways Ministry and asked officials to focus on safety and convenience of commuters.

Sitharaman also told the officials to expedite the implementation of Kavach system (India's indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system) in a phased manner and meet the allocated capex target in the stipulated timeframe.

MoR officials informed the Minister that Kavach-related works are currently in progress in over 3000RKm (route km) on the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai sections.

"Underlining the focus of the government on providing 'ease of living' for citizens, Sitharaman urged the officials of the Ministry of Railways to focus on capacity augmentation, safety and commuter convenience, including doubling and electrification of existing railway tracks and also laying of new railway lines across the country as per the capex outlay provisioned in the Union Budget," a finance ministry statement said.

Sitharaman also stated that the Railways Ministry should expedite the conversion of 40,000 normal rail bogies to Vande Bharat standards as announced in the Interim Budget 2024-25 in order to enhance the safety, convenience and comfort of passengers.

Sitharaman exhorted the officials to ensure that capex target for FY 2024-25 is achieved in a time-bound manner and take forward the momentum achieved in the first 100 days of this Government, the statement added.

This meeting is a part of the series of review meetings that have been scheduled with Ministries/Departments with significant capex outlays in the Union Budget.