In a significant announcement during her Interim Budget 2024 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed that the quality of 40,000 normal rail bogies would be upgraded to meet Vande Bharat standards. Addressing concerns about potential price hikes, the Finance Minister reassured the public that the enhancement in bogie quality does not necessarily translate to increased prices.
The Finance Minister outlined the government's commitment to transforming the rail infrastructure through the implementation of three economic railway corridor programs under the ambitious PM Gati Shakti initiative. These programs focus on energy, mineral, and cement corridors, port connectivity corridors, and high traffic density corridors. Sitharaman emphasized that these corridors would enhance multi-modal connectivity, improve logistics efficiency, and ultimately reduce costs.
Highlighting the broader impact, Sitharaman stated, "The resultant decongestion of the high-traffic corridors will also help in improving operations of passenger trains, resulting in safety and higher travel speed for passengers. Together with dedicated freight corridors, these three economic corridor programs will accelerate our GDP growth and reduce logistic costs."
The Finance Minister's assurance that the bogie quality upgrade won't lead to price hikes aims to allay concerns and reinforce the government's commitment to improving rail infrastructure without burdening the common man financially.