Indian Railways proposes to develop 100 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCT) under the new policy framed by it in three years to FY23, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
In a written reply to question in Lok Sabha, the Railwayminister said that 22 GCTs have already been commissioned while 125 applications for development of Cargo Terminals under the GCT Policy have been received and 79 In-Principle Approvals have been granted.|
For GCTs to be developed on non-Railway land, the GCT Operators are expected to identify the location and will construct the terminal after obtaining necessary approval. For GCTs to be developed either fully or partially on Railway land, the land parcels will be identified by Railways, and the GCT Operator for construction and operation of Terminal will be selected through open tendering process, Vaishnaw said in his written reply.
Replying to another question, the minister said various steps were being taken by the Railways for effective and speedy implementation of rail projects. There include setting up of Gati Shakti Directorate in Ministry of Railways and Gati Shakti Units in Divisions, prioritization of projects, substantial increase in allocation of funds on priority projects, delegation of powers at field level, close monitoring of progress of projects at various levels, and regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects.
The minister also said that railways did not have any proposal at this juncture to induct solar train in the Railway fleet.
The solar system works during the day time and generate battery backup of approximately 4 to 5 hours. System does not work properly during fog/rain and winter season and battery backup goes down to 2 to 3 hours depending upon weather conditions. Therefore, the system has not been pursued further, the minister said.
