New Delhi (PTI): The Indian Steel Industry on Tuesday hailed the Railway budget 2008-09 as a balanced and forward looking one and complimented Railway Minister Lalu Prasad for developing corridors for iron ore and coal to meet the growing needs of steel and power sectors.

"The Railway Budget 2008-09 is both balanced and a forward looking one. I commend the minister for his focus on developing exclusive freight corridors for iron ore and coal to meet growing needs of emerging sectors like steel and power," Essar Steel Holdings CEO J Mehra said.

The proposed increase in investment on new railway lines and addition of 20,000 new wagons to the railway fleet augurs well for the Indian steel industry, he said and added that from Essar Steels point of view, the government's commitment towards creation of a special purpose vehicle for rail-port connectivity between Surat and Hazira was a welcome step.

"The vision to transform Indian Railways as a comprehensive logistic solution provider is a great step forward," he said.

However, the steel industry has been expecting some relief from numerous additional levies like "congestion surcharge", imposed during past two years on iron ore movement, Mehra said.

"We hope the minister will revisit this issue in the days to come," he added.