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Indian Railways 2024 Major Investments, Enhanced Safety, and

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Various Safety Measures Taken to Enhance Safety in Train Operations

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Indian Railways 2024: Major Investments, Enhanced Safety, and 
Modernization to Drive Future Growth 
 
(Ministry of Railways) 
July 29, 2024 
 
The government has prioritized transforming Indian Railways into a world-class entity. In the Union 
Budget 2024-25, presented by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala 
Sitharaman on July 23, 2024, a record capital expenditure (Capex) of ₹2,62,200 crores has been 
allocated to the Railways. The Gross Budgetary Support for the same period is set at ₹2,52,200 
crores, a significant increase from the ₹2,40,200 crores in 2023-24, and a substantial rise from 
₹28,174 crores in 2013-14. 
The infusion of Capex has yielded remarkable results, with Indian Railways achieving an all-time 
high freight loading of 1,588 million tonnes (MT) in FY 2023-24, up from 1,095 MT in 2014-15. 
The Railway's goal is to reach 3,000 MT by 2030. Additionally, in 2023-24, Indian Railways 
reported all-time high total receipts of ₹2,56,093 crores and generated a Net Revenue of ₹3,260 
crores, which will further support Capex.

Indian Railways has achieved significant milestones, including commissioning 31,180 track 
kilometers in the past decade. The pace of track laying has increased from 4 kilometers per day in 
2014-15 to 14.54 kilometers per day in 2023-24. Furthermore, 41,655 Route Kilometers (RKMs) 
have been electrified from 2014-2024, compared to only 21,413 RKMs before 2014. 
This year's budget also allocates additional funds to promote industrial development, focusing on 
infrastructure to support industrial clusters at strategic locations. Key nodes include Kopparthy on 
the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, Orvakal on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial 
Corridor in Andhra Pradesh, and Gaya on the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor in Bihar. These 
initiatives aim to catalyze industrial growth, particularly in eastern India. 
Under the PM Gati Shakti Mission, Indian Railways has adopted a new approach to infrastructure 
development. Three Economic Railway Corridors—Energy, Mineral, and Cement Corridors (192 
Projects); Port Connectivity Corridors (42 Projects); and High Traffic Density Corridors (200 
Projects)—have been identified. The focus remains on enhancing capacity, decongesting high-
density networks, reducing logistics costs, and improving passenger experience and safety. 
 
Steep Decline in Train Accidents  
 
As a result of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the 
number of accidents. The consequential train accidents during the period 2004-14 was 1711 (average 
171 per annum), which has declined to 678 during the period 2014-24 (average 68 per annum).  
 
Various Safety Measures Taken to Enhance Safety in Train Operations 
1. Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) was introduced in 2017-18 to replace, renew, 
and upgrade critical safety assets, with a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore over five years, ending in 
2021-22. In 2022-23, the government extended the RRSK for another five-year period, with 
Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of ₹45,000 crores.

2. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation of points and 
signals have been installed at 6,589 stations up to June 30, 2024, to eliminate accidents 
caused by human error. 
3. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates has been provided at 11,048 level crossing 
gates up to June 30, 2024, enhancing safety at LC gates. 
4. Complete Track Circuiting of stations, which enhances safety by verifying track occupancy 
through electrical means, has been implemented at 6,609 stations as of June 30, 2024. 
5. Kavach, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, assists loco 
pilots by automatically applying brakes if the pilot fails to do so, and ensures safe operation 
during adverse weather conditions. Adopted as the National ATP system in July 2020, 
Kavach has been deployed over 1,465 Route km and on 144 locomotives (including Electric 

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