New Delhi, March 17 The Railways has saved ₹6,000 crore by switching from diesel to electric energy to operate trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Responding to a debate on the demands for grants of the Railway Ministry, he also said that the national transporter has become the second largest cargo carrier in the world.
Vaishnaw said that during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, 35,000 km of railway track has been laid while 27,000 km has been electrified.
He said that while staff costs are the biggest expenditure of the Railways, energy is the second biggest expenditure.
He noted that in the coming years, diesel locomotives will become obsolete, making way for electric locomotives.
Vaishnaw said that since the Modi government came to power in 2014, the focus has shifted from politics of votes to politics of performance.
He said that in a visionary decision, Prime Minister Modi had decided to merge the railway budget with the general budget, which has led to an increase in financial allocation for his ministry.
Now, new trains are being inaugurated and new projects are being launched throughout the year, which was not the case earlier. The financial health of the Railways has improved, and so has transparency in publishing accounts, he said.
Vaishnaw noted that the Finance Ministry and other agencies keep a close watch on the financial health using IT systems.
As many as 210 MPs participated in the debate, which lasted for two days.