PM Modi's focus is on improving services for general coach passengers: Railway minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on the improvement of services of the general coach passengers and, as part of the process, 1000 more general coaches will be added to the railway network by the end of this month, Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw told Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

He said the railways is also planning to build 10,000 additional general compartment coaches in the coming years.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus is to improve the services of the general class coaches. As part of the exercise, 1000 more general coaches will be added by the railways by the end of December. Our focus is more on general coaches rather than AC second or AC 3rd class coaches," he said during the Question Hour.

The minister said the Indian Railways is rebuilding 1,300 stations as part of a redevelopment project, which is considered to be the largest in the world, under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

He said that under the scheme, many stations will be rebuilt at a cost of Rs 700 - 800 crore while some others will be rebuilt at a cost of Rs 100-200 crore.

When the project is completed, it will fulfil the expectations of the people as it aims to enhance and modernise railway stations throughout the Indian Railways network.

Replying to two other questions, Vaishnaw told MPs belonging to Kerala and Tamil Nadu to coordinate with the respective state government in helping the railways to acquire land for completing planned projects.