March 17, 2026
Sougata Ray’s speech on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Railways for 2026-27
Hon. Chairperson, Sir, I shall make a brief submission on the Demands for Grants under Ministry of Railways. The Railway Minister is the glamour boy of the Government. He is an engineer from IIT, Kanpur. He is a former IAS officer of the Odisha cadre and he is also a favourite of the Prime Minister who has given him three ministries. There is no doubt that he has some achievements to his credit. During his time, Aizawl has been connected. The Chenab bridge has been constructed to connect Kashmir, and the Pamban bridge, the vertical lift bridge, has been constructed. I congratulate the Minister on these achievements. But I may also mention that during his time the project started by Ms. Mamata Banerjee has not been completed. There is a famous railway project called Arambagh-Bishnupur railway line that has been pending for years together. It has not been completed. It connects the birthplaces of Thakur Ramkrishna and his wife Sharda Devi. I do not know why. The metro railway around Kolkata is not complete. The Gariya-Barasat railway line has been pending for years together. Kolkata Metro is one of the 18 zones in the country. I would like the Minister to take personal initiative in this matter. There is big claim by the Railway Minister that he has introduced Kavach, which is a railway accident prevention mechanism. I asked a question on 17.12.2025. It shows that between 2014-15 and 2023-24, 740 people were killed in 678 railway accidents. When will railway accidents peter down? He claims that in 2024-25, only 18 deaths have taken place. Will the Minister tell us what are his main achievements in reducing these accidents? I told you that the Railway Minister is a glamour boy. He likes the glamorous projects. His favourite is Vande Bharat and the Prime Minister goes to inaugurate these things. Yes, Vande Bharat trains are nice trains. They have modern facilities. I thank the hon. Minister for that. However, I would like to ask whether he has ever seen the conditions of metro or local trains in Calcutta, particularly from Howrah to Sealdah. The situation is horrible. Men are seated like cattle in suburban trains when they try to board them. The hon. Minister has no time to address this. He is inaugurating Vande Bharat train. But I would like to ask, what about the trains that poor people travel by? He may say that these trains do not give sufficient revenue. The philosophy of the Railways should be to generate revenue from freight. Sir, I cannot hear you. Are you supporting me? कं टर ातिक्शन यही है तक इनके पास ग्लैमरस प्रोजेक्ट के तलए टाइम है, लेतकन र्रीबों लोर्ों के प्रोजेक्ट के तलए टाइम नही ं है। सारे मेम्बसग कम्पलेन करिे हं, तमतनस्टर को तचट्ठी तलखिे हं, िो 10 तचतट्ठयां तलखने पर एक तचट्ठी का जवाब आिा है। अर्र रेलवे बोिग के चेयरमैन को तचट्ठी तलखिे हं, िो 20 तचतट्ठयां तलखने पर एक तचट्ठी का भी जवाब नही ं तमलिा है। So, it is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Dr. Jekyll is a good man doing new projects and Mr. Hyde is the one who does not give minimum services to the poor people who travel by trains. Sir, he has achieved 98.82 per cent operational efficiency, which is a good thing. Railways have to improve their rate, but look at the toilets. Sir, do you go to Dumariyaganj by train or by plane? That is why, you do not know. Look at the trains in Eastern UP. The condition is horrible. Look at their toilets. They are in horrible conditions. Today, a person came to me and said that in the Howrah-Jhargram section, there are several trains, namely, Barbil, Ispat, Ghatsila, Ranchi Steel Express, Kriya Yoga Express, etc. I would request the hon. Minister to listen to it. These trains run between Howrah-Jhargram to Tata Nagar. The trains are running on an average six to eight hours late. There is no office to supervise it. You say that you want high speed trains to run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. I have travelled by the high-speed train Shinkansen. Sir, it travels on Magnetic Levitation Principle. There is no vibration and the trains reach one minute ahead of time. Please look at the delays in the local trains. Nobody cares about it. My demand is that the attention should be shifted from high-speed glamour trains to the trains carrying poor people. Hon. Member, Pratibha Mondal told me that she wanted train lines from Jaynagar to Maipith via Jamtala. No, Sir. She has not spoken. I would like to give you one example of how Railways operate in my constituency Dum Dum. There is a railway station at Dum Dum which has three lines, including a metro line. The main road of Dum Dum road passes under the railway line. All dirt from the trains falls on the main road. People cannot pass that road. I told a gentleman in the Eastern Railways ten times. They could not look at this. This is a glamour railway. This is not for poor. That is why, I cannot support the achievements of the Railway Minister.
