6,000 railway stations to become Wi-Fi enabled: Goyal
New Delhi, Aug 28 : Stressing the need for high-speed Internet connectivity in the remotest parts of the country, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that about 6,000 railway stations will be Wi-Fi enabled in six to eight months.
"We believe that if we have to leverage digital technology, the basic thing is to ensure access to technology in the remotest part of the country," Goyal said at the 'Smart Railways Conclave' organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here.
He said that the Railways is working on a programme to ensure last-mile connectivity, wherever there were no fibre optics network.
"We are hopeful that in the next six to eight months, all railway stations other than halt stations -- about 6,000 stations -- will be Wi-Fi enabled," the Minister said.
"We are focusing on the implementation of smart projects. We will have to start thinking, planning, and working smartly. I think that's the change that you must have seen in the last four years."
The Minister stressed on the punctuality of trains and said that between April 1 and August 28, punctuality had improved to 73-74 per cent due to installation of data loggers at interchange points to ensure computer-generated timings instead of the station master recording the timings.
"We are working on putting GPS on every locomotive so that we will have every train marked on mobile phone, knowing exactly where they are," he said.
"We are looking at electrification in a big way, which will save $2 billion every year, which otherwise I would have to charge the passengers. With efficient Railways, we won't have to burden the poor," he said.
Two knowledge papers on 'FICCI-EY Report on Make in India in Railways Sector' and 'FICCI-AT Kearney Report on Technology: Transforming Railways Transportation' were released on the occasion.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers granted bail, set to walk out of jail
_vb_51.jpeg)
Panaji (PTI): A Goa court on Wednesday granted bail to Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, owners of fire-ravaged nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, in a forgery case, paving the way for their release from jail. The brothers had earlier secured bail in a case related to the devastating blaze of last December that left 25 dead.
Advocate Parag Rao, representing the Luthras, told reporters that Judicial Magistrate First Class (Mapusa) Jude Sequeira granted regular bail to the accused in the forgery case.
With this verdict, Rao said, the brothers will be released from jail.
Rao said his clients have been asked to report to the Mapusa police station for the next five days. “We are waiting for the detailed judgment in the case,” he said.
The case pertains to allegations that the Luthra brothers used forged documents, including a fake no-objection certificate (NOC), to obtain permissions and an excise licence for operating their nightclub at Arpora village in North Goa.
According to police, the alleged forged NOC was later used to get regulatory clearances.
A sessions court at Mapusa on April 1 had granted bail to the two brothers in a case related to the deadly fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub last December that killed 25 persons.
Hours after the fire broke out at the club on December 6, 2025, the brothers had fled to Thailand, from where they were deported to India on December 17 and arrested by the Anjuna police from the coastal state.
The forgery case was registered separately by Mapusa police after a complaint from the health officer of the Candolim Primary Health Centre, who alleged that his signature had been forged and a fabricated entry had been made in the official register to secure the health NOC.
The tragedy had triggered a massive probe into fire safety violations, licensing procedures and alleged negligence in the operation of the club.
_vb_41.jpeg)
_vb_97.jpeg)
