The Indian Railways has placed the highest ever order for about 84,000 wagons this year in a bid to increase the share of railways in freight transportation from about 27 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030, Union minister Darshana Jardosh said on Wednesday.

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Speaking at an ASSOCHAM event 'Freight by Rail-The Way Forward for Achieving 45 per cent Freight Share by 2030', she said the national transporter is expected to achieve its highest ever loading of 1,500 million tonnes this year.

Jardosh said till now, the use of rail is more in carrying bulk goods, but in recent times, many goods which move by road can also be brought on rail, especially consumer goods which can be easily sent from one city to another through containers.

"Keeping all these things in mind, a target has been set to increase the share of railways by 45 per cent, for which basically four things are required -- track availability, wagon and rake, terminal availability and various freight schemes.

"There has been a lot of emphasis on these things in the last eight years, for example. From 2006 to 2014, the Indian Railways used to commission projects of about 4.16 kilometers per day, while from the year 2014 till 2021-22, it has increased to 7 kilometers per day and in the year 2022-23, it has further increased to 12 km per day," she said.

The Minister of State for Railways also said that the fast-completing projects will connect every nook and corner of the country, adding that from the year 2006 to 2014, the railways doubled 4,557 km of track, while from 2014 till now, 13,080 km of track doubling has been done.

She said that while currently, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) is 61 per cent commissioned and with its completion, freight movement will get a new impetus since it will also help in increasing the speed of goods trains.

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"Similarly, railways has successfully completed 85 per cent electrification of its network in record time and I am hopeful that it will be 100 per cent completed in the coming financial year. The Government of India has allocated highest ever Rs 2.40,000 crore R CAPEX find for 2023-24 to railways.

"The Indian Railways has placed order for about 84,000 wagons this year which is the highest ever to increase freight loading, its arrival will also help in capturing freight loading to a great extent," she said.

Similarly, various schemes have been introduced for the purchase of special types of wagons by the Indian Railways and it is launching a new product in collaboration with India Post to provide door-to-door services to customers in which first-mile-last-mile services will be rendered by India Post and middle-mile services will be provided by Indian Railways, she said.

The minister also stated that she expects the industry too to make their contribution towards the goal by building more terminals under the Gati Shakti policy, by investing in special types of wagons and send goods by rail as aggregators, especially consumer goods.

"I believe the industry can play a significant role in increasing freight loading by rail by implementing the policies brought by the government and also by rendering its valuable suggestions. Reduction of logistics cost is not only in the interest of the industry, but also in the interest of the customers and the nation as a whole," she added.

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