Indian Railways is moving towards a comprehensive transformation to make the journey of its crores of passengers pleasant, safe and modern. The Railway Ministry has prepared an ambitious plan, under which a new and major improvement will be seen in the Railways every week in the year 2026. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has clarified that these will not be mere announcements, but their direct benefits will be visible to the passengers on the ground. The objective of this master plan is to provide world class facilities to the passengers by changing the entire functioning of the Railways.
Target of 52 major reforms fixed for 52 weeks of the year, strict instructions to the officials that the changes should not be limited to papers only but should be felt by the passengers.
Railways has prepared a unique roadmap for the coming year which can be named ’52 weeks, 52 reforms’. This means that a new plan or reform will be implemented every week throughout the year. This strategy was discussed in detail in the high level meeting chaired by the Railway Minister. In the meeting, strict instructions were given to the officials that there should be no laxity in implementing the reforms. The entire emphasis of the administration is that instead of getting buried in the files, the impact of the policies should be reflected in the convenience of the common man traveling in stations and trains.
Emphasis on digital signaling while giving top priority to passenger safety, use of modern technology on a large scale to drastically reduce the number of accidents.
Passenger safety is the biggest issue for the Railways and to ensure this, major changes are being made at the technical level. If we look at the statistics, the number of railway accidents in 2014-15 was 135, which has now come down significantly and the target is to bring it down further by 2025-26. The signaling system is being completely upgraded to reduce human errors and ensure safe operation of trains. In this context, the work of modern digital signaling is going on on war footing on more than 10 thousand kilometers of railway network, so that the journey can be made risk free.
To strengthen the infrastructure, the pace of construction of new rail lines and coaches will increase, so that passengers can get relief from congestion and trains run on time.
Not only security, but Railways is also focusing on expanding its capacity. In view of the increasing number of passengers, the pace of expansion of new railway lines, construction of new coaches and upgradation of old tracks will be accelerated. The direct benefit of this structural strengthening will be that the delay in trains will be reduced and will help in controlling crowding at stations during festivals or holidays. By expanding the capacity, more trains can be run, which will gradually get rid of the problem of waiting list.
Special monitoring will be done on the quality and cleanliness of food during the journey, strict action will be taken to provide pure and safe food like home to the passengers.
Food has been a big problem for passengers traveling long distances, on which Railways has now shown seriousness. Strict steps are being taken to improve the quality of food served at stations and trains. The standards of cleanliness will be further raised and the monitoring system will be strengthened so that vendors do not commit any negligence. It is the endeavor of Railways to provide hygienic, tasty and healthy food to the passengers during their journey, so that their traveling experience can be even better. These reforms are not merely administrative, but a visionary exercise to prepare Indian Railways for future needs.
