New Delhi: Terming the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) as a "jewel in the crown", Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said in Rajya Sabha that there is no question of closing it. During Question Hour, Goyal said the government is proud of achievements of the ICF which manufactured the Vande Bharat Express, the Indian semi-high speed train that can run up to about 160 kmph.
"There is no question of closing the Integral Coach Factory. We are very proud of the achievements of the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. Its engineers and technicians made Vande Bharat...It is a jewel in the crown and there is every effort to grow and expand and modernise that company," he said.
In reply to a supplementary, the Railways Minister said that there are several bullet trains under consideration. "As regards the bullet train, several projects are under consideration all across the country and at an appropriate time once the decisions are made we will let the House know," he said.
'Trials on to Convert Diesel Engines into Electric'
The entire rail network will be electrified in India which is the only country in the globe that is experimenting to convert diesel engines into electric,
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
This is being done in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment towards environment protection, Goyal said during Question Hour.
"Till now six old diesel locomotives have been converted into three twin electric locomotives at Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi which is a production unit of Indian
Railways," Goyal said.
These conversions being prototype and since a lot of existing material from discarded locomotives were reused, it is not possible to ascertain the exact cost at this stage, he said.
The Minister said: "These converted prototype locomotives are under extensive field tests and trials. The number of diesel locomotives is to be decided based upon the performance of the converted prototype locomotives."
In reply to a supplementary, the minister also said that there is no requirement for conversion of metre gauge and narrow gauge into electric as the government is closing these barring a few places in view of environment or scenic beauty.
Comments
0 comment