New Delhi, 2 April (IANS). Giving information in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that there has been a rapid improvement in the operation of Indian Railways. Along with this, a decrease in the number of railway accidents was recorded, which has come down from 400 to 81 in FY 2024-25.
Comparing the tenure of the railway ministers during the previous UPA government, Union Minister Vaishnav said, “There were about 700 accidents per year in Lalu ji, there were about 400 accidents in Mamta ji’s time, there were about 385 accidents during Kharge ji’s time.”
During the Question Hour in the lower House, Union Minister Vaishnav said that continuous efforts are being made to start new training methods with technical and processed changes to further reduce railway accidents in the country.
Regarding railway accidents, he said, “In FY 2024-25, which has just ended, this number has come down from 400 to 81, there has been a major improvement.”
In response to a question on delay in registering an FIR related to crimes on railway networks, Union Minister Vaishnav said that the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force of each state continuously discuss for the coordination of action and the government has introduced a system of filing zero FIRs which will help resolve issues.
The Union Minister also said that to improve the regional passenger experience, the Indian Railways has proposed to offer various Indian cuisine in select trains.
This proposal was presented by the Railway Minister in the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour on Wednesday. In response to a question by DMK’s Sumati Thamizhchi Thangapandian about the lack of South Indian cuisine in Vande India trains running in Tamil Nadu, the Railway Minister said that a pilot scheme is being tested by South Railways.
He said that the goal of this pilot scheme is to improve the ‘travel experience’ of the passengers, which include local dishes, which reflect the culture of the region from where trains are passing.
-IANS
SKT/GKT