Union Budget 2024: Allocation for Maharashtra railways 13.5 times what UPA did, says Vaishnaw

Ashwini Vaishnaw. File Pic/PTI

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that Rs 15,940 crore has been allocated for Maharashtra railways in the Union Budget 2024. He claimed that this amount is 13.5 times the average outlay during the UPA years.

Addressing a press conference through a video link from Delhi, Vaishnaw stated Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the railway allocation for the state by 13.5 times in the Union Budget 2024, compared to the average of Rs 1,171 crore when the Congress-led UPA was in power, according to PTI.

"It is almost a proper special package," the railway minister said, reported PTI.

As per the PTI report, Vaishnaw stated that nearly Rs 1,30,000 crore has been invested in railway projects across Maharashtra, describing their advancement in the state as "very nice". He mentioned that Rs 81,500 crore is allocated for new railway lines, track doubling, and Gati Shakti initiatives.

He emphasized that the 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project should not be viewed merely as a typical transportation project. He highlighted its potential to significantly boost the economies of the cities along its route, according to PTI.

He noted that the work on the 21-km-long undersea tunnel and the underground station at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) is going on at full pace while about 320 kilometres of viaducts for the bullet train project are ready.

According to the news agency report, the railway minister said they have planned to add 250 more services to Mumbai's suburban system in the next five years. The Central Railway and Western Railway now run 3,200 services daily in the metropolis and ferry more than 70 lakh commuters.

Vaishnaw said the increase in the number of services would be achieved through 10 projects. These projects aim to shorten the time between trains from 180 seconds to 150 seconds, reduce train crossings, and segregate suburban trains from long-distance trains, according to the news agency.

Meanwhile, in the Interim Budget 2024, the Mumbai Urban Transport Projects (MUTP) were allocated a budget of Rs 789 crore, signaling a boost for the expansion of Mumbai's suburban railway network.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had specified the allocation distribution, with Rs 100 crore for MUTP (second phase), Rs 300 crore for MUTP-III, and Rs 389 crore for MUTP-IIIA.

(With inputs from PTI)