1.50 Vande Bharat trains introduced on IR network
-9910 km track length commissioned under vision 2024
Under Vision 2024, as on 01.04.2023, total 251 Railway infrastructure projects (76 New Line, 19 Gauge Conversion and 156 Doubling), covering total length of 29,147 km, costing 4.92 lakh crore in the entire country including those falling fully/partly in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are in planning/sanction/construction stages, out of which 9,910 km track length has been commissioned and an expenditure of 2.45 lakh crore has been incurred upto March 2023.
Presently, Ministry of Railways has taken up construction of two Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) viz. Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) from Ludhiana to Sonnagar (1337 Km) and Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri (1506 Km). So far, 2196 km (EDFC-1150Km and WDFC-1046 Km) out of total sanctioned length of 2843 km of DFC, has been completed.
Speeding up of trains is a constant endeavour and a continuous process on Indian Railways (IR). IR has also undertaken rationalization of time table in a scientific manner with the assistance of IIT-Bombay, inter-alia to speed up trains services by converting passenger trains to Express services and Express services to Superfast services. Further, Indian Railways has introduced Vande Bharat trains, which have higher speed potential. Till 21st July, 2023, 50 Vande Bharat trains have been introduced on the IR network.
Presently, a High Speed Rail project namely Mumbai - Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project is undertaken with technical collaboration and financial assistance from the Government of Japan.
The National Rail Plan mentions the following routes for future possible development for high speed rail network:
(i) Delhi - Varanasi
(ii) Delhi - Ahmedabad
(iii) Mumbai - Nagpur
(iv) Mumbai - Hyderabad
(v) Chennai - Mysore
(vi) Delhi - Amritsar
(vii) Varanasi - Howrah
2.There is no proposal to privatise the Indian Railways
The details of the number of candidates empanelled by Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) for various Group ‘C’ posts (including Level 1) during 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 and current year (2023-2024, upto 30.06.2023) are as under:
| Year | Total number of empanelment made by RRBs ( Level 1 to Level 7) |
| 2020-2021 | 5450 |
| 2021-2022 | 4612 |
| 2022-2023* | 85888 |
| 2023-2024* (upto 30.06.2023) | 50885 |
*Provisional
The details of the number of contractual workers engaged by the Railways during 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 are as under:
| Year | Number of Contractual Workers Engaged |
| 2020-2021 | 4079 |
| 2021-2022 | 8823 |
| 2022-2023* | 5013 |
*Provisional
There is no proposal to privatise the Indian Railways.
3.During 2023-24, the overall utilization of Vande Bharat trains has been 99.60%
·To opitimise utilization of accommodation in AC chair car & Executive class, zonal railways delegated power to introduce discounts up to a maximum of 25% of basic fare
·It is continuous endeavour of Indian Railways to reduce the operational cost of trains
Zonal railways had been delegated power to introduce discounts up to a maximum of 25% of basic fare in AC chair car and Executive class in order to optimize utilization of accommodation (vide commercial circular no. 40 of 2019, dated 27.8.2019). This authorized zonal railways to offer competitive fares over certain segments after analyzing the travel trends for all competitive modes in the region and also estimating the future occupancy potential.
The same provisions were extended with some minor modifications (vide commercial circular no. 11 of 2023, dated 8.7.2023). Further, fare rationalization is a continuous process to optimize utilization of travel accommodation in trains.
During current financial year, 2023-24 (up to June 2023), the overall utilization of Vande Bharat trains has been 99.60%.
The operational cost depends on various factors including traction energy cost and traction energy consumption. It is continuous endeavour of Indian Railways to reduce the operational cost of trains. Vande Bharat rakes are having regenerative braking system as its core design feature which feeds braking energy back to Over Head Equipment (OHE) and thus reduces traction energy consumption.
4.850 ‘One Station one Product’ (OSOP) outlets are operational at 782 stations
- OSOP scheme has been launched with objectives to promote ‘Vocal for Local’ vision of Govt. of India
At present, 850 ‘One Station one Product’ (OSOP) outlets are operational at 782 stations over Indian Railways including 5 outlets over Ranchi Division. Parliamentary constituency-wise data of OSOP outlets is not maintained by Indian Railways.
‘One Station one Product’ (OSOP) scheme has been launched by Indian Railways with objectives to promote ‘Vocal for Local’ vision of the Government of India, provide a market for local /indigenous products and create additional income opportunities for the marginalised sections of society. Features of the OSOP scheme are as under:
·Railways to provide standard design outlets-fixed stalls /kiosks, portable stalls/trolleys at railway stations for showcasing, selling and giving high visibility to indigenous/local products.
·The products category is indigenous/Geographical Indications (GI) tagged/local to that place and could include artefacts, handicrafts, textiles and handlooms, toys, leather products, traditional appliances/ instruments, garments, gems and jewellery, etc made by local artisans, weavers, craftsmen, tribes, etc and processed, semi processed and other food products indigenously made/grown in the area.
·Individuals at the bottom of the pyramid/marginalised and weaker sections and self help groups to be encouraged.
·Allotment for a period from 15 days up to 3 months with a nominal registration fee for participation in the Scheme.
·Allotment is to be done to all applicants who meet objectives of the scheme on rotation basis.
The beneficiary category under this scheme includes the following:
·Individual Artisans
·Individual Craftsman
·Individual Weavers
·Tribals
·Farmers
·Members of Self Help Group
·Members of Women Self Help Groups
·Members associated with registered Micro Enterprises
·Members associated with Social Organisations, State Govt Bodies, etc
