To ease passenger woes in short-distance railway travel, the government will manufacture new 100 expanded mainline electric multiple units (MEMU) and 50 Namo Bharat trains, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.
"Yesterday, two major decisions were made. To ease passenger travel, 100 MEMUs will be manufactured with 16 and 20 coaches. Earlier, MEMUs were manufactured with 8 or 12 coaches. A new factory is being set up in Kazipet, Telangana where these trains will be made," the minister said at the inauguration of India's largest automobile loading facility at Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant.
A MEMU is a type of electric multiple unit train designed for operation on mainline tracks, connecting city centres with suburban areas for short to medium-distance routes with frequent stops.
The minister also added that the ministry of railways will build 50 new Namo Bharat trains. These air-conditioned trains were developed for short-distance travel between cities. The first of these trains was launched last year in Gujarat.
The minister had also announced the government's plans to build 50 Namo Bharat trains after the Union Budget was presented in February.
The minister also said that the GatiShakti Cargo Terminal, dedicated for Maruti Suzuki's car transportation, will enable greening of logistics as these cars were earlier ferried via road transport.
"In line with the vision of the prime minister, railways undertook major reforms in 2021 to strengthen multi-modal logistics, resulting in the construction of 108 multi-modal cargo terminals in a short span of time. The terminal in Haryana, where the announcement was made, is spread over 45 acres and has a cargo handling capacity of up to 450,000 cars," he said.
-- Dhruvaksh Saha, Business Standard
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