Union Minister Raosaheb Danve said only freight trains generate revenue. (File)
Jalna, Maharashtra:
Union Minister Raosaheb Danve said on Sunday that the railways suffered losses of Rs 36,000 crore during the coronavirus pandemic, citing freight trains as the real revenue generators for the national carrier.
He also said that a bullet train project would be carried out along the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, which is currently under construction.
The State Secretary for Railways spoke at the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of a subbridge at Jalna train station.
“The passenger train segment is always incurring losses. Since raising the ticket rates will affect the passengers, we cannot do this. During the pandemic, the railways suffered losses of Rs 36,000 crore,” he said.
“Only freight trains generate revenue. During the pandemic, these trains played an important role in transporting goods and providing assistance to people,” the minister added.
Speaking of bullet train, he said that this project would be rolled out along the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway as it is necessary for people.
The railways have been running the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor project, which will connect Navi Mumbai to Delhi, Danve said.
He assured a doubling of the tracks between Nanded and Manmad stations and said he would check whether the Jalna-Khamgaon railway was viable or not.
Danve knocked out his opponents, saying he was being attacked from all sides. “But I get stronger after criticism,” he said.
Maharashtra’s health minister Rajesh Tope, who also attended the event, said the state government has sanctioned a hospital in Jalna for treating people with mental illness. He said the facility would benefit the Marathwada region.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
