Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on Monday said while the railways badly needed private capital, there was no way it could mean privatisation of any kind whatsoever.
“The Indian Railways will continue to be owned by Government of India only. It will not go into the hands of multi-nationals. There are no second thoughts about it. We need to decongest our network by doubling, tripling or even quadrupling lines wherever we can. In urban areas it could only mean we go above the road. As two-thirds of our revenue comes from freight, we are going for dedicated freight corridors,” he said.
He was addressing a gathering of Railway officials and representatives from the private sector including infrastructure, services sector and technology companies, at the 15 National Seminar on 'PPP and FDI in Indian Railways’. It was organised by the Centre for Transportation Research and Management (CTRAM) and hosted by the South Central Railways at the Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunication (IRISET) here.
Mr. Suresh Prabhu wanted all stakeholders to think and come up with out-of-the-box solutions. “I do not want problems, only solutions. I can tell you a hundred reasons why we cannot do a particular thing, but you tell me how we can go about raising the enormous funds required to fund our infrastructure projects. Indian Railways is a vital growth engine that cannot be neglected,” he said, pointing out how China invested 12 per cent of its funds on its railways and how it was leading to economic growth.
Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, E.S.L. Narasimhan said it was imperative for propagating the reason why Indian Railways needed public-private partnership. “Foreign direct investment (FDI) had become an absolute necessity. Out networks are getting choked. We need specific guidelines to clearly demarcate areas where FDI is required. Prioritisation is important. We cannot take up every project at one go. Indian Railways will not go into foreign hands,” he stated.
Mr. Narasimhan said infrastructure issues apart, the Indian Railways could leverage technology to address problems and improve safety, security and services. “Why cant the common train traveller get good, hot food on board ? Why do we still have unmanned level crossings ?,” he asked. The Railways had indeed come a long way from the days of noisy travel with steam locomotives and wooden seats in coaches, to silent, air-conditioned comfort, he said, pointing out that much more could be done.
Union Minister for Railways Mr Suresh Prabhu has proposed a special company to clear pending Railway Projects for Telangana and he proposed to the gathering of Ministers of Telangana that their Chief Minister could work towards the same , like he had proposed for Andhra Pradesh and maharashtra .
Later, he flagged off the Secunderabad -Vizag Weekly AC Express and the Nanded -Aurangabad Weekly Express (through remote) at the Secunderabad Railway Station.
The behemoth Indian Railways family needs to be infused with newer methods to make the organisation viable in tune with the aspirations of the users ''We need to take a look at the symptoms of the disease before taking a course correction. Every employee needs to be taken into confidence and policy-makers and officers cannot work in isolation,” he said.
Later, he flagged off the Secunderabad -Vizag Weekly AC Express and the Nanded -Aurangabad Weekly Express (through remote) at the Secunderabad Railway Station.
