Railway Minister pushes for upgrading train coaches

Mumbai, Apr 22: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday emphasised on upgrading coaches in trains and bring them on par with those available in European countries.

"Existing 65,000 coaches in Indian Railways will be upgraded or retrofitted to higher standards so as to make them more passenger-friendly and bring them on par with European standards," he said.

Prabhu was addressing a function organised to mark centenary year of the Carriage Workshop in Matunga here.

"In fact, the coaches of Mahanama Express are of such high quality that they are mistaken as brought from abroad," he said, adding Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister to give special attention to Railways.

Mahanama Express, which connects New Delhi with Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Modi, was launched in January this year.

"In the last two years, investment in Railways has been increased manifold. Dedicated Freight Corridor will be linking Maharashtra to other parts of the country for which Rs 85,000 crore has been approved by the Cabinet," he said.

Prabhu also felicitated 11 employees of the workshop for their commendable service by presenting them mementos. He said Make in India is not only a slogan but a mission for the BJP government.

"The employees of the Railways are our assets and when Railways forges ahead, the nation also forges ahead," said the Minister, who released a centenary souvenir, "Prerna", on the occasion.

PTI