Railways Targets To Add 300-400 Amrit Bharat Trains A Year, Says Ashwini Vaishnaw — NDTV Profit Exclusive

"We will run the two Amrit Bharat trains (flagged off by the PM) for eight to 10 months and make improvements based on experience," Vaishnaw told NDTV Profit's Tamanna Inamdar in an exclusive interview. "Then we plan to begin serial production and make 300-400 trains a year."

Amrit Bharat is a no-frills express train that offers a smoother "jerk-free" ride and a better travel experience to passengers with improved services. Amrit Bharat trains will allow a family to travel for 1,000 km at Rs 480, Vaishnaw said, underscoring that train travel in India is cheaper than other countries.

The new train, along with Vande Bharat express and India's first bullet train line that is under construction, is part of the Modi government's 'rail revolution' to meet the needs of a fast-growing economy and aspirations of the middle class, according to the minister.

The government's focus on India's railway sector is driven by goals to add capacity, electrify the rail network, reduce logistics cost for companies and improve on-board services for passengers, according to Vaishnaw.

"We have added 26,000 km of rail network and electrified 40,000 km in the last 9.5 years," he said. "Last year, we added 5,200 km of rail tracks; that's like adding one full Switzerland to the rail network. We are building 14 km of rail track per day," he said.

And the budget for railways has surged from Rs 35,000 crore before 2014 to Rs 2.4 lakh crore this year, he said. “Anywhere between Rs 2.4 lakh and Rs 2.6 lakh crore is what we should maintain,” Vaishnaw said. “Simultaneously, we have to ramp up operational and safety standards; that’s why we think it is an optimal level for the next few years.”