The Union Budget 2023-24, to be presented on February 1, is likely to give a boost to the production of semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express trains as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may announce to run 100-150 new semi high-speed trains in the next financial year.
A budgetary support of Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore can be provisioned to strengthen the railway infrastructure so that Vande Bharat trains can be run at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. The focus will be on repairing railway tracks, signal systems, anti-collision technology armor, old bridges, and so on.
According to Railway officials, the tender process for the production of 478 Vande Bharat trains is in the final stage. Considering the popularity of Vande Bharat trains among passengers, the government can increase its number to more than 600. This also includes aluminum body sleeper Vande Bharat trains whose speed will be 200 kilometers per hour, they said.
Old and dilapidated bridges are being renovated. Modern signaling systems are being installed. Overhead electricity (OHE) is being done for more power so that trains can run at a higher speed. Frontal anti-collision armor technology is being implemented on major railway routes like Mumbai-Howrah, Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Bhopal, Mumbai-Chennai, Kolkata-Chennai, and so on.
They said that in the General Budget, arrangements may also be made to take forward the development of railway stations and multimodal terminals. The capital expenditure for railways is expected to be pegged at Rs 2.70 lakh crore, as compared to the last year’s Rs 2.40 lakh crore.