CHENNAI: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday announced that the sleeper version of the Vande Bharat and Vande metro trains would be rolled out by the end of 2024.
Briefing media persons from Delhi, Vaishnaw, who interacted with reporter's zone-wise through video call, said that the sleeper version of Vande Bharat and Vande Metro would be ready by the end of the year.
The Railway Minister also elaborated that as much as 40,900 kms of new tracks would be developed for the three proposed major economic railway corridors.
Pointing out that new tracks to the extent of 22,200 kms would be covered under the first corridors which would be energy, mineral and cement corridors, the Railway Minister said that tracks running to the tune of 2,100 kms would be laid for port connectivity.
Another 16,600km long tracks would be developed for high-traffic density corridors.
Likening the size of the proposed corridors to the entire rail network of Germany and Switzerland put together, the Minister said that the budgetary allocation for railway projects/infra in Tamil Nadu has seen a sevenfold rise during the ten-year Modi regime compared to the 2009-14.
Claiming that about Rs 879 crore was allocated during the 2009-14 UPA-II tenure, Vaishnaw claimed that the allocation was Rs 6,331 crore for Tamil Nadu in 2024-25.
Allocation for SR
New Lines = Rs 976. 12 crore
Gauge conversion = Rs 413 crore
Doubling = Rs 2,214 crore
Track renewal = Rs 1,240 crore
Customer amenities = Rs 1,386 crore
Allocation for New lines in Tamil Nadu
Tindivanam – Nagari = Rs 350 crore
Erode – Palani = Rs 100 crore
Madurai – Thoothukudi via Aruppukottai = Rs 100.10 crore
Morappur – Dharmapuri = Rs 115 crore