Railway Budget 2022: Major Takeaways From FM Sitharaman’s Announcements. Top Points

Railway Budget 2022-23: FM Sitharaman said 400 Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured and start operating in the next three years. The government is also bringing 'one product one railway station' scheme.

Written by: India.com Business Desk Edited by: Analiza Pathak

Updated: February 1, 2022, 2:02 PM IST

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Railway Budget 2022: FM Sitharaman's Key Announcements

Railway Budget 2022-23:  Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the Union Budget for the FY 2022-23. The Indian Railways, which has been majorly affected since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been given some respite with increased expenditure. Sitharaman said 400 Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured and start operating in the next three years. “400 new generation Vande Bharat trains with better Energy Efficiency and passenger riding experience to be manufactured in next three years,” she said.

In another major announcement, the finance minister said the government is bringing ‘one product one railway station’ scheme under which one product will be popularised for every railway station. She also said 2,000 km of rail network would be brought under indigenous KAWACH technology for safety and capacity augmentation.

Last year, Finance Minister Sitharaman had announced a massive fund of Rs 1.10 lakh crore for the Indian railways. Out of this, Rs 1.07 lakh crore was supposed to be the capital expenditure for the Indian Railways. Some experts have pegged this year’s allocation at a whopping Rs 10-12 lakh crore, which is meant for the next 8-10 year vision plan.

Railway Budget 2022: Key Announcements by FM Sitharaman

1. Railways will develop new products and efficient logistics services for small farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises, besides taking the lead in integration of Postal and Railways networks to provide seamless solutions for movement of parcels.
2. ‘One Station-One Product’ concept will be popularized to help local businesses & supply chains.
3. As a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat, 2,000 km of network will be brought under Kavach, the indigenous world class technology for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23.
4. Four hundred new-generation Vande Bharat Trains with better energy efficiency and passenger riding experience will be developed and manufactured during the next three years.
5.  One hundred PM GatiShakti Cargo Terminals for multimodal logistics facilities will be developed during the next three years.
6. Mass Urban Transport including Connectivity to Railways
7. Innovative ways of financing and faster implementation will be encouraged for building metro systems of appropriate type at scale.
8. Multimodal connectivity between mass urban transport and railway stations will be facilitated on priority. Design of metro systems, including civil structures, will be re-oriented and standardized for Indian conditions
   and needs.

A day before, on Monday, addressing Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session, President Ram Nath Kovind had lauded the modernization undertaken by the Indian Railways in the last seven years. President Kovid stated that 24,000 km of train routes have been electrified in less than one decade. New tracks and double-laning of the existing routes also found mention in President Kovind’s speech.

The Indian Railways earlier proposed a plan to become the world’s first 100 percent green railway system by 2030. Under the same, Railways targets electrification of all its routes by December 2023. As mentioned by President Kovind, already 24,000 km has been electrified and 7,000 km is expected this year.