The proposed rail coach factory in Latur will be a total game changer for the state, Rajesh Agarwal, member Rolling stock railway board, said here on Saturday at the ‘Maha conference on railways and metro’ organised by Mahratta chamber of commerce, industries and agriculture (MCCIA).
An investment of Rs 500 crore has been set aside for this modern coach factory in Latur, he said.
“We have been talking of high speed trains for the past 30 years and even had talks between China and India in the 1980s; finally this train will soon be a reality and will also be a game changer for the state of Maharashtra,” Agarwal said.
Latur’s guardian minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar, Ravi Pandit, past president, MCCIA and Chairman KPIT Technologies Ltd, and Prashant Girbane, Director General, MCCIA were among those present.
The conference was organised to increase the awareness of various initiatives of railways and metros among the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the Pune region and to explore opportunities to become a part of the railways value chain. It also sought to promote ‘make in Maharashtra’ and ‘make in India’ initiatives of the government.
“We have always relied on Indian railways for our public transportation, which itself has been a problem, but we are trying to bring it on track in the future,” said Nilangekar in his opening remarks. “A coach factory coming up in Latur is a big step for Maharashtra and it will set a new benchmark,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“We have always relied on Indian railways for our public transportation, which itself has been a problem, but we are trying to bring it on track in the future,” said Nilangekar in his opening remarks. “A coach factory coming up in Latur is a big step for Maharashtra and it will set a new benchmark,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Interacting with the media, Agarwal stressed that Indian Railway is an important part of the transportation in the country and the shift towards railways is definitely back across the world for it is convenient, environment friendly, energy efficient transportation and best for sustainable development.
“We have 44 suburban trains running between Pune and Lonavla, we have introduced new diesel multiple unit (DMU)’s besides introducing a new DMU shed at Daund. We are highlighting the suburban sector and getting new semi high speed trains in Maharashtra,” he said.
According to him, the Pune-Lonavla rail route is ready with automation in signals and although there is concern about adding the third and fourth track on this route which has already been sanctioned, it is the land acquisition that is an issue which should soon be dealt with.
“With 250 trains including 50 freight trains, Pune is one of the busiest hub for railways,” he added.
The conference deliberated upon multifaceted aspects of railways with discussions and experience sharing on the work in progress on the Marathwada coach factory, Latur and Metro Projects in Pune.
Also, various important issues of the railways and metros were discussed and highlighted by the Ministry of railways, National high speed railway corporation, Research design and standards organisation, Pune metropolitan region development authority and many others.
Topics like the Rail coach and wagon factories in India, dedicated freight corridors in India, Electrification of rail lines and engines, use of analytics and artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of railways, station development initiative at 400 railway stations in India and proposed hyper loop project of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) were discussed.