Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the railways ministry is looking at ways to speed up the electrification process as it would help reduce the Rs 16,000 crore bill on diesel.

He further added that the ministry is consulting all the people who are involved in the electrification process. The important things which are involved in the process include availability of equipment and adequate infrastructure.

He stated “We are giving a relook to the ways of speeding up the electrification process” of rail lines across the country. The move would help in cutting down the diesel expenses on Indian Railways, which is about Rs 16,000 crore and improving operating ratio of Indian railways. We can do lot of savings in that,” he said, adding that the cost on account of power is quite less.

Before the BJP -led government came to power, investments on safety related things, track renewal and maintenance were not good and it had impacted the railways, he added. On a question that in terms of investments lot of funding was tied up from LIC, he said, “You will see large drawdowns in the next few days”.

Further Goyal, who also holds the coal portfolio, said that there is a continuous progress in the sector. “Soon we want to start commercial mining,” he said.

Speaking at the national quality conclave, he emphasised upon the importance of high quality goods and services. Goyal said that the coal ministry has engaged with the Quality Council of India (QCI) to see “how we can ensure quality of coal”. Coal quality has improved significantly in terms of better grading and crushing to desired levels, he added.

Citing cleanliness of railways stations, he said garbage which gets to the rail tracks as well as the uric acid from toilet facilities corrodes the track and affects maintenance and safety features. These are simple examples but these are quality issues which one should think and bring change in day-to-day working, he said, adding that simple spelling or comma mistakes can change meanings of text.