Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday unveiled what he called "four goals, five drivers and 11 thrust areas" to end the "vicious cycle" of underinvestment in Indian Railways. The railways short-term aim would be to deliver its best financial performance in nine years, Mr Prabhu said. (Read)
Mr Prabhu, however, said there will be no increase in train fares, disappointing markets. The railways incur a loss of Rs 26,000 crore on passenger fares, which is cross-subsidized by freight fares.
Freight rates are already among the highest in the world because of which the railways has been consistently losing market share in goods transportation to the roads sector.
The four goals laid out in the Railway Budget are -- 1) sustainable improvement in customer experience; 2) making railways a safer means of travel; 3) expansion of capacity and modernising rail infra; and 4) attaining financial sustainability by creating large surpluses for capacity expansion and replace depreciating assets.
These will help railways increase its rail network to 1.38 lakh kilometers and freight traffic from 1 billion tonnes to 1.5 billion tonnes, Mr Prabhu said.
The five drivers include, 1) a five-year action plan to transform railways; 2) partnerships with states, PSUs, multilateral agencies and private sector for ensuring financing and last mile connectivity; 3) raising of Rs 8.50 lakh crore over five years; 4) revamping of management practices; and 5) setting standards of governance and transparency.
Many of Mr Prabhu's eleven thrust areas were directed at augmenting railway infrastructure, safety and improving passenger amenities.
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