New Delhi : Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday announced that passenger safety is his highest priority and in this regard, it has been decided to prioritise track renewal over new lines/gauge conversion and eliminate over 5,000 unmanned level crossings in a time-bound manner.

Announcing other major decisions for passenger safety, Goyal said he has ordered installation of CCTV cameras in coaches and at stations for enhanced security, especially for women and senior citizens.

He said transforming the railways would be done through technology, faster redevelopment of stations, upgrading of railway-run schools and hospitals. Railway revenue would be enhanced through monetisation of assets and overall improvement of field staff working conditions.

In a major boost to suburban rail services in the Mumbai area, the Indian Railways has announced plans to introduce one hundred additional local train services on its Western Railway and Central Railway Zones.

With these additional services, the total suburban local train services in Mumbai of Western Railway and Central Railway put together will increase from existing 2983 services to 3083 suburban services.

Introduction of these new suburban services will benefit 77 lakh commuters travelling daily over the Mumbai suburban network by reducing congestion and providing faster commute.