Parliament Session: Railways Amendment Bill passed in LS amid disruptions

Minister assures opp that bill won't cause privatisation, calls it "fake narrative"

The Railways Amendment Bill 2024—introduced to subsume the Railway Board Act of 1905 into the Railways Act of 1989—was passed in the Lok Sabha even as disruptions continued in the lower house on Wednesday.

 

In his reply to the discussion on the bill, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw dismissed concerns about the privatisation of the railways through the legislation.

 

“It is a fake narrative being pushed by opposition members of parliament. I would like to state categorically—there is no question of privatisation. All the assets of the railways belong to the government and the people of the country,” Vaishnaw said.

 

 

“This bill is a backdoor entry which can lead to privatisation and undermine the autonomy of the Indian Railways,” Congress’ Manoj Kumar had said during the discussion on the bill last Wednesday.

 

During the debate last week, among other things, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule had said that a prima facie look at the legislation suggested it could take powers away from Parliament and hand them solely to the central government regarding matters of the national transporter.

 

“The bill is required for simplification in the legal structure. There is no question of centralisation in this legislation. In fact, in the last 10 years, general managers (of zones) have been given 100 per cent power to process and approve the tender of any project. There has been large-scale decentralisation, which has led to an increase in the scope and speed of projects. Parliament’s role will remain unchanged with this bill,” Vaishnaw said in response to the issue.

 

Addressing concerns raised by opposition members of parliament on the lack of services for low-income passengers (in sleeper and general classes), the minister said that occupancy of Amrit Bharat trains currently stands at 150 per cent.

 

“900 general coaches have already been added this financial year, and a programme for the production of 10,000 coaches is already underway,” he said.

 

Amrit Bharat trains are completely non-air-conditioned trains that feature some Vande Bharat design specifications, making them safer for higher-speed travel—a concern that had earlier caused the railways to reduce the number of non-air-conditioned coaches in mail and superfast trains.

 

The minister informed that the ministry has saved Rs 5,000 crore on diesel expenses due to its record pace of electrification since 2014.

 

Several other opposition leaders raised issues regarding the possibility of caste and gender disparities on the board and asked the government to ensure that marginalised communities are equitably represented at the Railway Board.

 

In 2022, the board saw its first woman chairperson and chief executive officer, Jaya Varma Sinha, and the following year, Satish Kumar, a Dalit bureaucrat, was tasked with leading the organisation for the first time.

 

The minister also said that a total of 13,000 trains have been planned to cater to the anticipated surge in passengers, reflecting a focused effort to serve middle-class and economically weaker sections.