Piyush Goyal replaces Suresh Prabhu as Railways minister

 Power minister Piyush Goyal, has been handed over the reins of the Railway Ministry of India in the cabinet rejig on Sunday.

Cabinet reshuffle 3.0: Nine new ministers take oath, four elevated

Goyal was elevated to the position of the cabinet minister on Sunday in the third cabinet reshuffle of the Narendra Modi ministry.

Goyal, who is known as the man who brought about a major change in India's crisis-prone power sector, replaces Suresh Prabhu who found himself at the receiving end recently for a rise in the number of train accidents.

Earlier, Prabhu had taken moral responsibility for the recent mishaps and offered to quit. He came under fire from the Opposition after the Kalinga Utkal Express accident, which claimed 22 lives and left 156 injured.

According to ET Now, Prabhu will now manage the power portfolio.

Goyal's has a clean image and a good track record in the Power and Coal ministry. He was the Minister of State with Independent Charge of Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy.

Goyal is credited with corruption-free auctions in the coal market, together with increased production which in turn ensured domestic supply and brought down the coal imports.

Under Goyal, 12,708 villages of India were electrified since 2015. With the rural electrification project progressing at a steady pace, Goyal had declared that Narendra Modi's promise of bringing electricity to all villages in the country by 2019 could be a reality well before the deadline.

Meanwhile, earlier on Sunday, Prabhu took to Twitter to thank all his colleagues in the railway ministry.

"Thanks to all 13 Lacs plus rail family for their support, love, goodwill. I will always cherish these memories with me. Wishing u all a great life," said Prabhu in his tweet.

He also congratulated Goyal and three other Union ministers who were elevated to Cabinet rank.