The Union government’s move to privatise railway facilities and introduce cent per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in railways will ultimately affect passenger services as the private players will hijack the profit-making freight sector, Southern Railway Mazdoor Union president C.A. Raja Sridhar has said.
“The SRMU along with like-minded Central government employees’ associations in insurance and defence sectors will launch an indefinite strike if the Centre moves forward with the privatisation plans.”
Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Mr. Sridhar said that the passenger fare in the country was highly cross-subsidised with the revenues of the freight movement. “If the profit-making areas of freight movement are handed over to private companies, the railways will have to increase passenger fare to run train services,” he said.
Stating that the maximum revenue on freight front came to the railways from the golden quadrilateral routes connecting the metropolitan cities, he said, “If railways is going to allow FDI in setting up the dedicated freight corridor, then the lion’s share of revenue will go away from Indian railways,” he said.
“When the Centre can allow the public sector State Bank of India to extend huge loans to Adani group for coal mining in Australia, why can’t it ask the same bank to fund the dedicated freight corridor project?” Mr. Sridhar asked.
“Successive governments have not concentrated on developing important rail routes. Besides, political interferences in promoting unviable projects have led to losses in railways,” he said.
