Train travel now a punishment, blames Centre: Rahul Gandhi

He expressed concern over the discomfort faced by passengers, noting that even those with confirmed tickets struggle to find seating, with some resorting to sitting on the floor or hiding in restrooms.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday claimed that the poor policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government are weakening the railways, adding that travelling by train has become a punishment under the BJP-led Central government.

Sharing a video clip of passengers facing inconvenience during their train journey, Rahul Gandhi in a post on X said, “In the rule of Narendra Modi, travelling by train has become a punishment! Passengers of every class are being harassed by the Modi government which is reducing the number of general coaches from common man’s trains and promoting only ‘elite trains’.”

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Rahul Gandhi claimed that even those having confirmed tickets are facing inconvenience.

“People are not able to sit comfortably on their seats even after getting confirmed tickets; the common man is forced to travel on the floor and hide in toilets,” he said.

Wayanad MP further alleged that by showing railways in a poor light, the BJP wants to sell it to their “friends”.
“The Modi Government, through its policies, wants to weaken the Railways and prove it ‘incompetent’ so that it can get an excuse to sell it to its friends. If we want to save the common man’s travel, then the Modi government which is busy ruining the railways will have to be removed,” he added.

Earlier last month, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw lauded the transformative efforts undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revamp the Indian Railways over the past decade.

Vaishnaw emphasized that under PM Modi’s leadership, the railways have made significant strides, operating at an impressive pace of development.

Minister Vaishnaw said, “In the last ten years, PM Modi has made a lot of efforts to bring improvement in railways.”
Expressing confidence in the future trajectory of the railways, Vaishnaw affirmed that the momentum of development and infrastructure expansion would be sustained over the next five years.

He assured that the railways would continue to introduce new infrastructure and services at a consistent pace, further enhancing connectivity and efficiency across the nation.

“Railways will continue to bring new infrastructure and services at the same pace in the upcoming five years,” said Minister.
Indian Railways has been allotted a total of Rs 2.52 lakh crore outlay for the financial year 2024-25.