Railway launches ₹50 Lakh-cr rail infra upgrades

The Indian Railways has targeted to invest ₹50 lakh crore in the next five years and the key mission included development of railway stations and upgrade related rail infrastructure. The investment is being mobilized from various sources including the budgetary and extra budgetary resources, institutional financing as well as by engaging private players in the Public Private Partnership (PPP). Also, a part of the investment for the completion of railway tracks, rolling stock manufacturing and roping in private players in freight services under the PPP model. As part of the modernization process, as many as 1250 Indian Railways stations have been identified for redevelopment under the Adarsh Railway Station Development Scheme across states. The steps which have been taken by the Railway Ministry in order to utilize various environmental friendly sources on its network include the use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power: Presently, Indian Railways utilizes about 202 megawatt (MW) of renewable power on its network. All the railway stations on the network, service buildings as well as about 89 percent of residential quarters have been provided with LED lights and installation of bio-toilets across coaches.