India will save Rs 1.28 lakh crore annually (as diesel costs) in 2031, if it successfully ferries 1500 million tonne additional cargo through trains, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Friday.
Addressing the 68th National Railways Awards, he said that another 3000 million tonnes (MT) of additional cargo will be moving in the country by 2031, at the present pace of economic growth.
“The Railways is well on the path to corner half (1500 MT) of this incremental cargo growth and save 16,000 crore litres of diesel every year. This means India will save Rs 1.28 lakh crore annually if the Railways successfully ferries the additional cargo,” he added.
The National Transporter ferried a record high 1512 MT cargo during fiscal 2022-23, up from 1418 MT during 2021-22. But this comprises less than 30% of India’s total cargo movement, a larger share of which moves by road, according to official estimates.
Vaishnaw said that the pace of Railway infrastructure creation is improving with new tracks being laid and multiple lines being laid at existing ones.
“More than 200 new rakes were added in the last two years. New technology Vande Bharat trains were inducted. The new Amrit Bharat trains on pushpull technology have also been added,” he said.
During the event, Vaishnaw awarded 100 Railway Employees from various Zonal Railways, Production Units, and Railway public sector undertakings (PSUs), for their outstanding services.
Commenting on economic growth, he said that India will be among the top three countries of the world (by gross domestic product) in 2027, up from the fifth rank right now.
Vaishnaw also stated that senior Railway officers should shed any traces of a colonial mindset which stems from the pre-independence origins of the Indian Railways. “Many a times, the colonial mindset reflects in working and practises. These need to be ruthlessly quelled,” Vaishnaw said.
