PM hints at increased private sector role in Railways

July 04, 2014 01:32 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 07:13 pm IST - Katra

A securityman stands guard at the Katra Railway Station in this July 3, 2014 photo. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural Katra-Udhampur train at Katra on Friday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

A securityman stands guard at the Katra Railway Station in this July 3, 2014 photo. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural Katra-Udhampur train at Katra on Friday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

Ahead of the rail budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hinted at an increased role of the private sector in development of railways.

“We want the railway stations to have better facilities than airports. This is our dream and it is not a difficult thing to do and this is economically viable too. I have discussed it in detail with my Railway friends. You will see a change in near future. In that, private parties would also be ready to invest because this is a good project economically and will benefit everyone. This would be a win-win situation project and we want to move ahead in this direction in the coming days,” he said.

The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering at the inauguration of the Katra rail line project in Jammu.

Mr. Modi said the railway stations in metros and important cities such as Jammu would be priority for the government with regard to development of railway stations.

He said the Railway Ministry has been given a detailed outline of the project. Railways Minister Sadananda Gowda will present his maiden Rail Budget on July 8 in Parliament. The Government has already hiked the fares for passenger travel and freight transportation.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.