Team Herald
PANJIM: Emphasizing on the need to make the railways more environment friendly, Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday announced plans to set up 400 model stations across the country under the public private partnership (PPP) mode.
The Union minister also announced the government’s plan to make the railway stations across the country digital hubs with Wi-Fi and hot-spot connectivity.
“In my first budget speech I had proposed a series of measures to make railway transport more environment friendly, we are moving in that directions,” Prabhu said, adding that there are plans to make the transport system safer and faster with better speed quality.
The minister also announced plans to set up 400 model railway stations across the country under the PPP model by using the best technology.
Prabhu was speaking while interacting with IITians across the country at the IIT Global Business Forum, wherein on Saturday the keynote address was on ‘India’s road map towards energy independence for the next ten years’.
Requesting for new ideas and concepts, the minister proposed that IITians suggest a solution wherein government can develop new toilets in the railways with less or no water consumption.
Stating that efforts are on to make the railway system more digital and transparent, Prabhu said that moves are on to set up digital hubs across railway stations. He said on a trial basis, the government has asked Google to tie-up with five railway stations, providing Wi-Fi and hotspot connectivity.
Participating in the summit, Union Minister for State (independent charge) for Power, Piyush Goyal, announced that the ministry is committed towards reducing the ATS losses in the power sector in each State, for next three years. “In the last six to seven years, we have seen politics prevailing over the power sector. But since the time new government took over, the situation has changed… our efforts are not to allow inefficiency to pass on to the consumers,” he said.
