India is planning a major new investment to improve the safety of its rail network.
The Hindu reports that the country’s Railways Ministry has pledged to pump a staggering INR8.5 trillion (US$128 million) into modernising the country’s tracks, trains and signalling, as well as repairing railway bridges.
The ministry is also setting itself an ambitious “zero accident” target.
“Once we implement it fully, the accident rate will go down and speeds will improve, facilities will improve, quality of service will go up and revenue will increase. Customer experience will go up significantly,” India’s Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu told The Hindu in an interview.
“Train accidents, delay of trains and deterioration of service, which is seen today, all are happening because of the underinvestment in the past. The ‘zero-accident mission’ is an expensive proposition, but that is the only way to have safe travel,” the minister added.
The INR8.5trn investment will take place over the next five years.
India is moving to modernise its aging rail network with the development of new high-speed and semi-high-speed routes to key cities.
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