Record budget allocation for railway in Rajasthan: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Jaipur: The railway in Rajasthan has been allocated a record Rs 9,532 crore in the Union Budget for 2023-24, about 14 times the annual average allocation of Rs 682 crore between 2009 and 2014, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, the minister said rail development in Rajasthan will pick up pace with the allocation. This year's Budget allocation is higher than last year, with priority given to North Western Railway.

North Western Railway has been allocated Rs 8,636.85 crore in the Budget, about 28.44 per cent more than last year's 6,724.29 crore, a press release said.

Vijay Sharma, the North Western Railway general manager, said special attention has been given to strengthening railway infrastructure, safety and passenger facilities.

An allocation of Rs 923 crore has been made to North Western Railway for passenger facilities, the press release said.

Sharma said North Western Railway has completed work on electrification of 3,531 kilometres of railway line and the remainder will be done during 2023-24.

Projects worth Rs 30 crore have been approved for the Jaipur depot. Rs 204 crore has been allotted to Khatipura for maintenance of rolling stock, according to the release.

Facilities are being developed in Jaipur, Sriganganagar, Udaipur and Madar for maintenance of Vande Bharat trains.