New bill to ensure development and safety of railways: ‘Railway Amendment Bill, 2024’ introduced in Lok Sabha

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday to integrate the Indian Railway Board Act of 1905 with the Railway Act of 1989 and said that its passage would increase the capacity of the railways.

Vaishnav introduced the 'Railway Amendment Bill, 2024' in the House for discussion and passage. He said that the railway was initially a part of the Public Works Department (PWD) and in 1905 it was separated from the PWD and a new Railway Board was formed.

Vaishnav said that a new Railway Act law was brought in 1989, but the Railway Board Act of 1905 was not integrated in it, which should have been done at the same time. He said, "This bill has been brought to integrate the Indian Railway Board Act 1905 in the Railway Act 1989.

The passing of this bill will increase the capacity and development of railways. Vaishnav said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, railways have developed a lot in the last 10 years.

Vaishnav said that for the poor passengers, one thousand general coaches will be added to the trains by the end of this month and in total there is a plan to add 10 thousand new coaches. This will benefit lakhs of people. He said that the budget of railways has increased in the Modi government, electrification of railways has increased and its network is also growing rapidly.

Vaishnav said that the Modi government has also paid attention to safety in railways and as a result of that, while during the UPA government, an average of 153 rail accidents used to happen in a year, last year 40 rail accidents occurred and this year so far 29 rail accidents have been recorded. He said that attention is being paid to further reduce rail accidents.