Viksit Bharat Ambassador: According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, India built a 31,000 km rail network in ten years, which is equivalent to Germany

May 16, New Delhi On Thursday, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Railways, Communications, and IT, presented statistics that both demonstrated the Indian Railways’ revolutionary improvements over the previous ten years during the Modi administration and brought attention to its neglect under previous Congress-led administrations.

Speaking at the Viksit Bharat Ambassador function in Lower Parel, Mumbai, the Union Minister provided a thorough explanation of how the railways, which were seen and handled like a “milch cow” under earlier administrations, saw comprehensive growth during the Modi administration.

The Minister captivated the audience with his in-depth presentation as he explained how the railways have added a significant number of networks and undergone extensive electrification and modernization, to the point where developed nations are finding it difficult to keep up with India.

Today, the nation is building 4 kilometers of rail track per day. We constructed a 5,300-kilometer rail network in the past fiscal year alone, which is equivalent to the whole train network of Switzerland. The Union Minister informed the Viksit Bharat Ambassadors that 31,000 kilometers of new railway track have been built in the last ten years, which is equivalent to Germany’s whole network.

Giving a brief overview of the electrification and modernization of railways during the Modi administration, Vaishnaw said that over the last ten years, 44,000 km of railway networks have been electrified, compared to 20,000 km during the previous sixty years of Congress rule.

“Within the Indian Railways, we are moving toward complete electrification today,” he said.

Despite being the largest public carrier, Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the railways were still in despair due to the carelessness and ignorance of the previous administration.

“The NDA government took up the conversion from meter gauge to broad gauge networks, which should have started in the 1950s and 1960s,” he remarked.

The Minister went into more detail on the Modi government’s refurbishment of train stations and production of domestically produced, contemporary trains.

More than 300 railroad stations are undergoing renovation nationwide; Maharashtra alone is home to 120 of these stations. Modern models like the one at Shivaji Maharaj railway station are one example.

According to him, the government’s persistent and steadfast commitment to strengthening railways as one of the main drivers of national development has resulted in the realization of Vande Bharat and bullet trains.

According to him, the area would see unprecedented growth from the Bullet trains that link eight cities between Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the domestic Vande Bharat trains will completely change how people commute and travel throughout the nation.

Instead of bringing in contemporary components from industrialized nations, the “Modi government has made a sincere effort to develop Vande Bharat trains,” he said.

Declaring that Vande Metro is part of the first 100-day plan of the Modi government’s third term, he went on to say that with the launch of the Vande Bharat series, there would be revolutionary change in the coming years.

The Union Minister said, “Vande Metro, which connects two cities; Vande Chair car, which covers cities within 500 km; and Vande Sleeper, which connects cities over 500 km, will enhance comfortable travel while waiting tickets will be completely done away with.”

He said that generational shifts would occur in India in the coming years and that the country is expected to become a worldwide center for telecom services and semiconductor production.

The Minister said, “10 years ago, 98% of mobile phones were imported; today, 99% of mobile phones are made in India,” highlighting the seismic change in the mobile phone manufacturing industry.

He went on to say that, whereas mobile manufacturing was nonexistent under earlier regimes, it is now becoming a worldwide center for mobile manufacture and export from India.

He said, “Apple exported phones worth 8,500 crore in April alone, and the company is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years.”

The Union Minister said that young people today are rewriting India’s history of development, using a girl from Bihar as an example.

I recently got to know a girl from a distant part of Bihar who operated complicated machinery at a mobile manufacturing facility. He told the Viksit Bharat audience, “When I asked her how she felt about this, she told me that she was getting more recognition and respect than her village pradhans enjoyed.”