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Three major railway corridor programmes will also be implemented.
New Delhi:
Emphasising that the Centre will retain its focus on enhancing connectivity and passenger comfort, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said 40,000 normal train coaches will be converted to Vande Bharat standards.
Presenting the Interim Budget for 2024 on Thursday, Ms Sitharaman said this will be done to enhance the “safety, convenience and comfort” of passengers.
The finance minister said three major railway corridor programmes will be implemented – the energy mineral and cement corridor, port connectivity corridors and high traffic density corridors. Identified under PM Gatishakti, Ms Sitharaman said these projects will enable multi-modal connectivity, improve logistics efficiency and reduce cost.
The decongestion of high-traffic corridors, she pointed out, will help improve operations of passenger trains, resulting in safety and higher travel speeds for passengers. The minister said that, with dedicated freight corridors, the three corridor programmes will accelerate India’s GDP growth.
On aviation, Ms Sitharaman said the number of airports has doubled to 149 in the past 10 years and the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme has expanded connectivity to Tier II and Tier III cities. She also highlighted that Indian carriers have placed orders for over 1,000 new aircraft.
“Expansion of existing airports and development of new airports will continue expeditiously,” she said.
“We have a fast-expanding middle class and rapid urbanisation is taking place. Metro Rail and NaMo Bharat (Regional Rapid Transit Systems) can be the catalyst for the required urban transformation. Expansion of these systems will be supported in large cities focusing on transit-oriented development,” the minister added.
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