Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], September 28 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated development projects worth Rs 1,472 crore and flagged off the country’s first LNG-powered train from Sabarmati Railway Station in Gujarat's Ahmedabad.
He also inaugurated the WAG-12 Maintenance Shed being established for the maintenance of railway locomotive engines. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and several other dignitaries were present on the occasion, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Addressing the programme, Shah said that several railway projects have been initiated today in the Sabarmati division, focusing on environmental sustainability, passenger amenities and the safety of rail passengers.
He said that Satyagraha, simple living, rural development and khadi, the journey of translating all these experiments into action on the ground began from Sabarmati itself. Shah said that Sabarmati Railway Station has now undergone significant development, but in the 1980s, passengers had to walk nearly two kilometres even to find a rickshaw from the station. He said that the Sabarmati Railway Station has witnessed a major transformation in terms of passenger amenities, safety and connectivity. He said that the development works inaugurated and foundation stones laid today, at a cost of Rs 1,472 crore, will prove to be highly significant for the region in the coming days. He said that a WAG-12 Maintenance Shed has been constructed here at a cost of Rs 700 crore for the maintenance of railway locomotive engines.
The ‘Kavach’ train protection system has been introduced on the Sabarmati–Kalol–Sabarmati rail section at a cost of ₹48 crore to enhance safety. In addition, works have commenced for the implementation of ‘Kavach’ on the Ahmedabad–Palanpur and Ahmedabad–Samakhiali rail sections, as well as the doubling of the Sabarmati–Sarkhej railway line.
Union Minister said that an engine with a 12,000-horsepower twin-section capacity has been commissioned, which can haul nearly as much freight as 600 trucks single-handedly. Earlier, two locomotives were required for this purpose, but now a single WAG-12 can perform the same task. He said that this will mark an important milestone in the history of Indian Railways. Shah said that an LNG-powered train has also been inaugurated, which will make a significant contribution to environmental conservation in the years to come.
Shah said that after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, several new facilities were introduced in the railways and the railway network was modernised. He said that the successful trial of the country’s first double-stack long-haul container train from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai, to Vadodara has been completed. He said that the country has limited rail tracks for freight transportation, but if the concept of double-stack freight trains succeeds, the freight-carrying capacity will nearly double. He said that an 11,000-kilometre-long corridor is now being converted into a four-lane network, which will significantly facilitate traffic movement towards Delhi–Howrah and Delhi–Guwahati.
He said that it was under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi that the Dedicated Freight Corridors, the Rapid Rail System and premium railway stations were introduced. Shah said that recently, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated a hydrogen-powered train, making India one of only four countries in the world to possess this technology. He said that 97 per cent of bio-toilets were installed during the Modi government’s tenure. 87 per cent of LHB coaches were manufactured in India during the Modi government’s tenure. Railway electrification stood at only 30 per cent before Prime Minister Modi assumed office, while the remaining 70 per cent was completed during his tenure. He said that under the Modi government, the railway safety budget has increased by 67 per cent, while locomotive production capacity has increased by 66 per cent.
Shah said that Prime Minister Modi launched the concepts of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, and as a result, the country has now made significant progress towards manufacturing equipment such as locomotives domestically. He said that in 2015–16, the railways consumed 293 crore litres of diesel, but this has declined to 108 crore litres in 2024–25. He said this is a major achievement that receives relatively little attention.
Union Minister said that railway electrification was only 75 kilometres in an entire year in 2010–11, whereas 7,188 kilometres were electrified in a single year in 2023–24. He said that 99.6 per cent of the railway network has now been electrified, and the remaining 0.4 per cent will also be completed soon. He said that railway electrification stands at 92 per cent in China, 68 per cent in Spain, 60 per cent in France and 49 per cent in the United Kingdom, a relatively small country. India will surpass these countries by achieving 100 per cent electrification. He said that Sweden is the only country in the world to have achieved 100 per cent railway electrification, but the total length of railway lines in Sweden is nearly ten times less than that of India.
Shah said that, if Gujarat is taken as an example in terms of the railway budget, the rail budget from 2009 to 2014 was merely Rs 589 crore. In contrast, the budget for just one year, 2026–27, stands at Rs 17,366 crore. He said that the difference in the pace of development is clearly visible. He said that the people of the country should tell opposition party leaders who make reckless statements to discuss issues with facts and figures.
He questioned the opposition party about what it had done during its tenure. He said that apart from scams, scandals and corruption amounting to Rs 12 lakh crore over 10 years, the opposition party had done nothing. Shah said that in 12 years, not even the slightest allegation of corruption has been levelled against Modi Ji. (ANI)
Gujarat: Amit Shah inaugurates development projects worth Rs 1,472 crore, flags off country’s first LNG-powered train
