NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, MAY 20
Union Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday visited the Integral Coach Factory at Perambur and inspected the coaches of Vande Bharat, LHB Shed and furnishing factory.
First two prototype rakes of Vandhe Bharat rakes are planned to be rolled out by August 2022. Indian Railways is committed to roll out 75 Vande Bharat rakes by August 2023.
- The Minister visits One Station One Product Stall at Dr MGR Central Station
- Left for Bengaluru by a special train to conduct window trailing inspection
The minister also flagged off the 12000th LHB AC-II Tier Coach at Furnishing factory, in the presence of A.K. Agarwal, General Manager, ICF, B.G. Mallya, General Manager, Southern Railway, S. Srinivas, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, ICF, P.U.K. Reddy, Chief Administrative Officer, ICF and other officers and staff of ICF.
This is a great milestone in the history of Indian Railways and a bench mark in modernisation of passenger train services. ICF is the first production unit of Indian Railways to achieve such a benchmark in the production of LHB coaches, officials said.
Interacting with media persons at ICF, the Minister stated, “Vande Bharat express is a proud project for Indian Railways and I congratulate the Team ICF for the design and development of these coaches which is of world class. All regions of India will be connected through Vande Bharat Express trains as envisaged by Hon’ble Prime Minister which is a dream coming true for all of us.”
Before his departure to Bengaluru, the Minister visited Dr MGR Chennai Central Railway Station and inspected the One Station One Product ‘Kanchipuram Silk Sari Stall’.
The minister also interacted with the office-bearers of trade unions before boarding a special train to conduct window trailing inspection from Chennai to Bengaluru.
Later addressing the media the minister said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is to transform Indian Railways to give better passenger experience, higher safety, with more passenger capacity.
Railways re-developing all stations
All stations in Indian Railways are being re-developed. 50 stations have already been undergoing the process. In Tamil Nadu, five stations including Chennai Egmore, Madurai, Kanniyakumari, Rameswaram and Katpadi have been shortlisted under the project.
Rs.3685 crores have been allotted for railway projects in Tamil Nadu in the current budget. Under PM Gati Shakti project, many more developments are on the anvil for railways, the minister added.
Vande Bharat express is a proud project for Indian Railways and I congratulate the Team ICF for the design and development of these coaches which is of world class. All regions of India will be connected through Vande Bharat Express trains as envisaged by the Prime Minister which is a dream coming true for all of us.
No question of privatization of Railways
As I already informed in the parliament and outside many times, there is no question of privatization of Railways. Our focus is totally on adaptation of new technologies for the betterment of Indian Railways, such as Kavach Anti-collision safety devices, that will be fitted on Vande Bharat Express coaches as well.
There are many aspects that to be kept in mind for increasing the speed of operation of trains in India, such as trains, tracks, safety and the bridges. Once these are streamlined, the operations of trains will be done at maximum.
Exhorts railway staff working in TN to learn Tamil
‘I recommend all Railway Staff working in Tamil Nadu to learn Tamil language for better interaction with rail users in addition to smooth and safe operation of trains. India is a country with many beautiful languages and we need to enjoy the beauty of each and every language’, the minister said.
