PM Modi launches railway infrastructure push

The biggest beneficiary of a developed India will be its young and their dream will drive the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he virtually inaugurated around 2,000 railway infrastructure projects — spanning revamped stations, new underpasses and over bridges —worth ₹41,000 crore across India .
In his speech that followed the programme, Modi said the third term of his government will begin from June, highlighting that he was confident of a victory in this summer’s general elections. He later also spoke at the Bharat Tex event in Delhi.
“When Modi talks about a developed India, its architect and biggest beneficiary are the youth of the country. Today’s projects will provide new employment and self-employment opportunities to lakhs of youth of the country. The rejuvenation taking place in the Railways today will also benefit those friends who are studying in schools and colleges. This transformation will also be very useful for those who are below 30-35,” Modi said virtually.
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The PM said Viksit Bharat or developed India — also a key part of his election narrative — was the India of their dreams.
“I want to tell every youth of the country that your dream is Modi’s resolve. Your dream, your hard work and Modi’s resolve, this is the guarantee of a developed India,” he said.
“When Modi speaks about a developed India, its architect and biggest beneficiary are the youth of the country,” he said.
Modi’s pitch to young voters comes just weeks before general elections, where voters aged between 18 and 19 will be around 18 million of the total electorate of around 960 million.
The event was virtually attended by 450,000 students and 50,000 of them received awards, saida railways official. In all, nearly four million people watched the live telecast of the event that was broadcast at 2021 places across the country, added the official.
“Today, in your presence, the foundation stone of more than 2,000 projects related to Railways has been laid and inaugurated. This is when the third term of this government is going to start from June,” he said.
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The scale and speed of the work had surprised everyone, he said.
“These projects worth ₹40,000 crore are coming on the ground simultaneously. Only a few months ago, we started the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Even then work on modernisation of more than 500 stations had started. Now this programme is taking it further. This shows at what speed the train of India’s progress is moving forward,” he said.
Amrit Bharat scheme is a railways ministry programme to redevelop railway stations across India and modernise the railway network. “ I am happy that these Amrit Bharat stations will be symbols of both heritage and development,” he said.
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Giving examples of stations that will highlight the character of each place, Modi said that the Baleshwar railway station in Odisha was designed on the theme of the Jagannath Temple, Sanganer railway station in Rajasthan will have hand-block printing of the 16th century, the design of Kumbakonam station in Tamil Nadu was based on the architecture of the Chola period, and the Ahmedabad station was inspired by the Modhera sun temple.
“You will see the influence of local architecture at Rangpo Railway Station in Sikkim… In Gujarat, the station at Dwarka is inspired by the Dwarkadhish temple. The IT City Gurgaon station, will be dedicated to IT. This means that Amrit Bharat Station will introduce the world to the specialty of the place. Convenience to senior citizens and disabled passengers has been given special focus,” Modi said.
He said everyone was witnessing the making of a new India in the last 10 years. “We are actually seeing the changes in Railways. The facilities which people earlier used to imagine, today we are actually seeing it happening.”
Till a decade ago, no modern, semi-high speed train such as Vande Bharat was thought of, heard of, or even spoken about by any government, Modi said.
“Till a decade ago, it was very difficult to imagine a modern train like Amrit Bharat, till a decade ago, no one had ever thought of a luxurious rail service like Namo Bharat. Today, overbridges and underbridges have ensured uninterrupted and accident-free movement,” he added.
Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 553 railway stations across 27 states and Union Territories at a cost of over ₹19,000 crore. These stations will have modern passenger amenities such as roof plaza, landscaping, inter modal connectivity, improved modern façade, kids play area, kiosks and food courts. Modi inaugurated the Gomti Nagar station in Uttar Pradesh; he also laid the foundation stone, inaugurated and dedicated to the nation 1,500 road over bridges and underpasses across 24 states and Union Territories, and worth ₹21,520 crore.
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Targeting the Opposition, Modi said, “For decades, Railways had to become a victim of our selfish politics. But now Railways is becoming the primary basis of ease of travel for the countrymen.”
The PM said that he was working hard to make India the world’s third-largest economy.
“Just imagine, when we become the third largest economic superpower in the world, how much our strength will increase. Therefore, Modi is working hard to make India the third largest economy in the world as soon as possible,” he said.
The PM also attacked the Opposition and accused them of dishonesty.
“.. no matter how big the budget is, if scams and dishonesty keep happening, then the impact of that budget is never visible on the ground. In the last 10 years, we have saved big scams and loot of government money. Therefore, the pace of laying new railway lines has doubled in the last 10 years,” he said.
Modi said every penny spent on infrastructure creates new sources of income and new jobs. “When a new railway line is laid, many people get employment, from labourers to engineers. Possibilities of new jobs are created in many industries and shops like cement, steel, transport. This means that the investment worth lakhs of crores of rupees that is taking place today is also a guarantee of thousands of jobs.”
Modi said that India today was being considered the most attractive place for investment in the world. “A big reason for this is the modern infrastructure. In the coming five years, when these thousands of stations are modernised and the capacity of Indian Railways increases, another huge investment revolution will take place,” he said.