Railways spent over Rs 1 lakh cr on safety between 2017-2018 and 2021-22: Official document

The railways has spent more than Rs 1 lakh crore on safety measures between 2017-2018 and 2021-22 with a steady growth in expenditure on track renewal, according to an official document. Government sources also indicated that the railways will soon reply to a Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report that was cited by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to attack the Centre over the Friday triple-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore that claimed 275 lives and injured more than 1,000 people.

Kharge on Monday had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that “all the empty safety claims” of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw have been “exposed”. He also said there is serious concern among people about the deterioration in safety of railways.