New Delhi, April 1: To accomplish its zero-accident mission, railways will seek over Rs 1 lakh crore from the Finance Ministry as non-lapsable fund to strengthen safety measures on the rail network in a comprehensive way.
“We will be submitting a proposal to the Finance Ministry to create Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh, a non-lapsable fund, seeking Rs 1,19,183 crore for undertaking safety measures in a significant way to prevent accident,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.
After the proposal gets the Finance Ministry’s nod, the railways will go to the Cabinet for final approval.
A committee, constituted for putting together a consolidated proposal for creation of Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh, in its report, has envisaged works of track renewal and upgradation, bridge rehabilitation, elimination of level-crossings, construction of road over bridges/road under bridges, replacement and improvement of signalling system, improvement and upgradation of rolling stock, replacement of electrical assets and human resource development.
These works would be carried out at a total cost of Rs 1,19,183 crore, according to the report.
“Our target is zero-accident level and for this, we are working on integration of system to ensure safe travel,” the officer said.
Indian Railway is already working on integration of various systems, including track maintenance and signalling, and using Information Technology to prevent accidents.
