The Railway ministry has been allocated budgetary support of Rs 140367.13 crore in the Union Budget on Tuesday - Rs 20,311 crore more than the revised figures of the previous fiscal.
Overall, the national transporter is set to get a capital expenditure (CapEx) push of Rs 2.45 lakh crore in the financial year 2022-23, 14 per cent higher than the budgeted capital expenditure of Rs 2.15 lakh crore for the current financial year.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech for 2022-23 said that India will manufacture 400 new, energy-efficient Vande Bharat trains in the next three years.
The rail sector will also develop “One Station One Product”, which will leverage local produce carried on the railways.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw welcomed the announcements and said that the two Vande Bharat trains currently in operation are state-of-the-art trains, but the upcoming ones will be "Next Gen trains."
"The second version of these trains will start testing from April. From August, we will begin serial production.
"The Next Gen trains will ensure comfort, safety and speed for passengers," he said in a press briefing.
These new trainsets are going to be made of light-weight aluminum, as opposed to steel, making each around 50 tonnes lighter in weight, consuming much less energy than their steel counterparts.
The cost of such new trainsets would be an estimated Rs 120 crore, officials said.
The contract for manufacturing 44 such trains has already been awarded.
The FM also said that the Railways will develop new products and efficient logistics services for small farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises, besides taking the lead in the integration of Postal and Railways networks to provide seamless solutions for the movement of parcels.
Vaishnaw said that this integration of posts and railways will bring better logistics solutions for people living in remote areas.
He also said that the Railways will introduce new products and services for small farmers and enterprises.
As far as the financial health of the Railways is concerned, the Budget has proposed the operating ratio for the financial year 2022-23 at 96.98 against 98.93 at the current year.
With a dip in revenue on the one hand and high staff and pension costs on the other, the Railways' operating ratio—a measure of its profitability—continued to worsen and crossed 100 for two consecutive financial years 2019-20, and 2020-21.
This means that for every Rs 100 earned, the transporter spent more than Rs 100.
The Budget has also earmarked Rs 38686.59 crore for investment in PSUs, joint ventures and special purpose vehicles.
The allocation for the development of rolling stock, which will be instrumental in bringing in new modern coaches and technology to the national transporter, has been kept at Rs 7977 crore.
The FM has also allocated Rs 15710.44 crore to the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), whose assets will be monetised by the Railways for operations and maintenance.
The budget has also allocated Rs 13335.47 crore for track renewal, Rs 2850 crore for gauge conversion and Rs 12108 crore for doubling.
A sum of Rs 25243 crore has been allocated for new lines as well.
The Railways has budgeted to carry 8,595 million passengers in fiscal 2022-23, almost 2.5 times the number of travellers in the previous year.
On the freight side, it has set a target to carry 1,475 million tonnes of cargo in fiscal 2022-23.
The India Railways has set a revenue target of Rs 2.39 lakh crore for fiscal 2023, 18 percent higher from 2021-22.
