PM reviews progress in railway and road sectors

In the course of the review of the Railways sector, it was noted that the capital investment in 2015-16 was over Rs. 93,000 crore, which represents a massive increase of 65 per cent over the previous year, and is the highest-ever.

Similarly, 1780 km of lines have been commissioned, and 1730 kilometres electrified during 2015-16, which represent the best performance on these metrics in railway history, read a government statement.

The Prime Minister stressed upon the need to speed up the redevelopment of Railway Stations, and urged the Railways to substantially raise its level of ambition in this regard.

He emphasized the need for the Railways to upgrade and diversify the uses of its infrastructure.

He reiterated that railway infrastructure in rural areas could be used for activities such as skill development, and this could also result in an increase in non-fare revenue for the railways.

In the roads sector, the Prime Minister was informed that over 6000 kilometres of highways were completed in 2015-16, while contracts for another 10,098 kilometres were awarded in the same period.

The Prime Minister stressed on the need to study various models of road development across the country, and adopt the best practices, so that more private investment can be brought into the highway construction sector.

He also stressed the need to decongest critical stretches, and adopt latest technologies for toll collection.