Opinion - Editorials   

Another smooth journey

It was very much on expected lines. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has presented his third budget sans any increase in passenger fares or freight tariff. Only the rationalisation of the tariff will continue. Mr. Prasad, no doubt buoyed by the revenue surplus in the current year, has perhaps lost an opportunity to restructure the passenger fares so as to reduce the cross subsidy as also the overall subsidy burden on the Railways. But true to his pro-poor commitment and populist approach, the Railway Minister has taken credit once more for not taxing the passengers or the customers. He has even offered a package of concessions, this time even to the upper class passengers — an 18 per cent reduction in First class AC and 10 per cent in Second AC fares — to meet the competition from airlines offering discounted fares, along with a 50 per cent concession in second class sleeper charges for farmers. There is also the good news of the introduction of 55 new trains and of fully air-conditioned `Garib Rath' trains for the poor, with fares 25 per cent lower than the normal three-tier AC rates. On the freight front, Mr. Prasad has promised a Rs.22,000 crore dedicated corridor for goods traffic and also a long-term freight discount scheme to retain more customers with the Indian Railways. Another new direction is towards a "dynamic pricing" mechanism that can tailor the tariff to suit peak and non-peak seasons. This needs to be worked on for the optimal use of the rolling stock and the operating schedule.

A series of operational and technical measures initiated by the Railway Board over the past two years have contributed to this comfortable position. A substantial increase in the loading of wagons, thanks to the new axle loading system, has generated a revenue surplus for the current fiscal and this promises to continue into the next year. Hence the decision to step up the annual plan outlay by almost one-third, to a record Rs.23,475 crore for 2006-07. Significantly, almost Rs.11,000 crore of this will come from internal resources. Mr. Prasad must thank his predecessor at Rail Bhavan, Nitish Kumar, for two major initiatives — the Railway Safety Fund of Rs.17,000 crore and the modernisation fund — that have helped to revamp the railway infrastructure and replace both the ageing track and rolling stock. These massive programmes have helped to speed up trains and increase the loading of freight trains substantially. To meet the continuing challenge from road transport, special schemes and incentives are being offered to customers. Again, the huge highways development programme now has its counterpart in the new freight corridor plan so that the Indian Railways can stay in the race. The setting up of the Rail Vikas Nigam as a special purpose vehicle to take up and implement special projects has proved useful, and it will be fully utilised in the coming years. Mr. Prasad and the Indian Railways have demonstrated how increased volumes and improved efficiency can lead to a better value for the public.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Another smooth journey
A destruction foretold
Peace holds in Sri Lanka, for the time being
Russia keen on ending stalemate on Iran
Bird flu: let not fear make us headless chickens
Hostile witnesses
Shocking call
Depressing
Handle with care
"India wants safeguards locked to fuel supply"

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu