Railways Action Plan

A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Narendra Modi and his Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) were declared landslide winners of India’s general elections. He was sworn into office for his second term last week and just after the beginning of the government’s second term, an urgent meeting was convened at NITI Aayog to prepare a roadmap for the new government. The ministries geared up for 100-day action plans along with the NITI Aayog. The 100-day plan is about pushing difficult and big-ticket reforms.

For the second innings of the Modi government, Railways have also released their mega action plan for the next 100 days. Here are the major highlights of the action plan:

1. Dedicated Freight Corridor
   The prime focus of this action plan will be on the roadmap for freight transport since the railway plans to increase its revenue through freight trains. Indian Railways will focus on completing its ambitious Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project by 2020.

   As the name suggests, it is a dedicated corridor for freight trains which will not only reduce the traffic on passenger routes but also help to carry higher freight volumes. Its objective is to create world-class rail infrastructure with advanced technology to carry higher throughput per train and to increase rail share in the freight market.

   Indian railway has aimed to double its income through freight transport. The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) is a Special Purpose Vehicle set up under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways to undertake planning & development, mobilization of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.



2. Increased number of Humsafar Express trains
   They have also planned to extend the Humsafar Express, the fully AC 3-tier service, to new routes. The first Humsafar Express was inaugurated on December 16, 2016, between Gorakhpur and Anand Vihar 12595. The plans have been made to run a greater number of Humsafar trains on the commercial routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Chennai, Delhi-Howrah etc.

   Here are the major features of Humsafar Trains:

   • Mobile charging point for each berth including USB charging points. Previously there were only 3 points for 8 passengers.
   • Aesthetically pleasing colour scheme with anti-graffiti coating and distinctive 3D numbering on the exterior with appealing interiors and colorfully coordinated seats, berths, partitions, curtains, improved/hygienic toilets, film type mirrors, etc.
   • The train has Global Positioning System (GPS) based Passenger information system, passenger announcement, fire and smoke detection and suppression system.
   • Baby nappy changing pad in 2 toilets per coach.
   • Display monitor screen for the CCTV installed in the coach.
   • Dustbins in each bay inside the coach.
   • Integrated braille displays for the visually impaired and hygienic lavatories with odor flushing system.
   • Fire and smoke detection system in the coaches with fire detection and suppression system in the power cars.


3. Better services in Category A and B stations:
   Indian Railways has decided to provide escalators, lifts, toilets and waiting rooms on priority to the category A and B stations. Also, they have planned to provide free Wi-Fi for category A plus, A and B stations within this term pretty soon.



Ultimately, through this action plan railways have planned to focus on better passenger services and increase the income through freight transport. It is possible that railway takes necessary steps to achieve these tasks in the coming days. So plan out a travel to these A and B category stations and to do so book Train Ticket as well as flight tickets from the Trainman app. Download Trainman App, to check PNR Status of your ticket, running status of your train, seat availability of any train and much more.