Chunav Manch: As the political landscape in Madhya Pradesh heats up in anticipation of the upcoming state elections, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took center stage at the 'Chunav Manch LIVE' event to provide valuable insights into the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prospects in the polls.
The railways' transformation
In his address at the election event, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw elucidated that Indian Railways has witnessed remarkable growth and progress in the past nine years. He stated that substantial changes have occurred on a grand scale, signifying a monumental shift in the railways' landscape. Over this period, a staggering 25,871 kilometers of new railway tracks have been laid.
To put this immense railway network expansion into perspective, the newly added tracks in the Indian Railways surpass the entire railway track network of Italy and South Africa combined. The magnitude of this development underscores the extraordinary strides taken by Indian Railways.
Extraordinary milestones
Minister Vaishnaw highlighted that in the state of Madhya Pradesh, during the past nine years, the extent of new track laid equals the entirety of railway tracks in Sri Lanka. This astounding comparison emphasizes the vastness of the railway network expansion in the region.
Electrifying progress
Furthermore, Minister Vaishnaw noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a phenomenal 37,000 kilometers of railway tracks have been electrified over the past nine years. Notably, this accomplishment has resulted in 100% electrification of railway tracks in Madhya Pradesh.
In his presentation, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized the transformative changes that Indian Railways has undergone during the past nine years. These achievements are a testament to the government's commitment to enhancing railway infrastructure, expanding the network, and electrifying tracks to provide an efficient and sustainable transportation system for the nation.
In the latest development, Congress on Sunday released the list of 144 candidates for the upcoming Assembly Election. State Congress President and former Chief Minister Kamal Nath will contest from Chhindwara while former CM Digvijay Singh's brother Lakshman Singh has been fielded from Chachoura.
Earlier on Monday (October 9), the Election Commission announced the date for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls. According to the announcement made during the press conference, the election will be held in a single phase on November 17. The results for the same will be declared on December 3.
Ashwini compares India's win over Pakistan with Vande Bharat Express speed
Speaking at the day-long India TV Chunav Manch conclave in Bhopal, Vaishnaw gave a detailed presentation about the achievements of Indian Railways, and while doing so, he played a video clip to say that Team India reached its 192-run target in 30.3 overs "with Vande Bharat Express speed".
Asked whether Vande Bharat Express will phase out most of the existing high-speed trains on Indian Railways network, Vaishnaw said, "Vande Bharat is a new technology and we have already sacled up its manufacturing. We are introducing one Vande Bharat express almost every week. There are presently 22,000 trains running on Indian Railway network and a complete transformation will be a big challenge. 450 Vande Bharat Express trains have been sanctioned in this year's budget, and commuters are happy with this train."
On the much-anticipated Bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the Railway Minister said, "must work has been done within a short time frame and till now 237 kilometer work has been completed. When the Japanese Prime Minister visited the site they were really, really amazed with the fast pace and high quality of work. This is Prime Minister Modi's vision of total transformation of our railways."
In the last nine years, Vaishnaw claimed, stations, trains, toilets and tracks have become much cleaner now. There has been a fundamental difference in work culture. In the last nine years, 25,871 kilometer new rail tracks were laid to boost capacity building. This is more than the entire rail network of South Africa and Italy combined. In the last one year, 5,200 km new rail tracks were added, equivalent to Switzerland's total train network. This is the scale of Modi's vision of work."
"In Madhya Pradesh alone, 1,741 km new rail tracks were added, equivalent to Sri Lanka's rail network. This fundamental shift was possible when Railway Budget was merged with Union Budget resulting in eight times jump in Budgetary support to railways from Rs 29,055 crore in 2014 to Rs 2,40,000 crore at present.", Vaishnaw said.
The Railway Minister said, "Vande Bharat has till now travelled 62 lakh kilometer, which comes to 154 times the distance round-the-earth. Vande Bharat has now become a truly proved product. Its noise level is 100 times less compared to that of an aeroplane. Vande Bharat has become the past and future for Indian Railways. "
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