Ministry of Railways in talks with NID for internal design of coaches

In a bid to redesign coaches internally, the Ministry of Railways began talks with Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design (NID), Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhu announced on Saturday.

Prabhu, who was in Ahmedabad to flag off two trains from Ahmedabad - one towards Chennai and another towards Darbhanga, said, "We have also begun talks with National Institute of Design (NID) for railway coaches' internal designs." It needs to be mentioned here that in the past as well, NID has been instrumental in designing railway coaches and train drivers' uniform, among other things.

Also, during the UPA regime, the then Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi had announced a dedicated Railway Design Centre at NID's Ahmedabad campus during his railway budget speech.

Calling for enhanced investment in Indian Railways, Prabhu said, "With the population increasing and people travelling more across cities for business and other purposes, the economy is growing and so is the Indian Railways' responsibility to cater to the growing needs. To meet these needs, Railways need to invest heavily, especially in the areas of technology, security and various facilities for commuters. Moreover, delays in travel also need to be improved."

Apart from the two trains, the Union Minister for Railways also launched Wi-Fi facility at the Ahmedabad Railway Station.

Talking further about investments, Prabhu said that the same could come not only from the the Ministry of Railways but also other states.

"It is not only the Ministry of Railways that will invest but we will also involve other states to bring in investment. We are happy that Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel has agreed on this. We have decided to form a joint venture company with Government of Gujarat to bring investment in railways in the state. We are going to meet the chief minister to explore the possibilities on how rail ministry and Gujarat government can associate on a higher scale," Prabhu added.

Prabhu said that in his meeting with Patel, the Ministry of Railways was also going to emphasise on integrated transport system.

"Keeping in mind the way urban population is increasing and people from rural areas are also migrating to urban areas, we will have to look at integration of the current transport system in the country's major cities. Integrated transport planning is imperative for us today. Transport between cities and then transport within the city needs to be integrated. Ahmedabad is one such city where there the BRTS has emerged as a successful transport system with dedicated corridor. If we plan an integrated transport model, these systems can complement each other. We will be discussing this matter with the Gujarat chief minister," he said.

Welcoming the Wi-Fi facility in Ahmedabad Railway Station, Prabhu said that the optical fibre backbone created under RailTel also needed to be utilised to enhance Railways' financial standing.

"Indian Railway's financial condition is not good. We will have to use internal resources to improve the same. If improved, 2-3 per cent of the country's GDP growth could come from Railways alone," Prabhu stated.

When asked if the upcoming Railway budget would see announcement regarding the high speed rail network project, Prabhu said, "A Japanese company is working on the feasibility study of bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in collaboration with Ministry of Railways and the state governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra. It has nothing to do with budget because the study will only be completed after the budget."

Meanwhile, among other things, Prabhu also offered assistance on behalf of Ministry of Railways to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in waste collection and segregation in the city. "In the coming days, we have decided to take necessary steps for rail connectivity to ports and we will also support if the Gujarat government wants to invest in this area," Prabhu added.