New Delhi: Presenting his maiden Rail Budget in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda announced 58 new trains including 5 new Jansadharans, 5 premium trains, 6 AC express, 27 express trains, 8 passenger trains, 2 MEMU trains and 5 DEMUs. He further announced extension of 11 trains’ route.
Stating that bullet trains are a priority, the Railway Minister proposed the first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmadabad route. Railways will also launch high-speed trains to connect major cities, he said.
Gowda said his ministry would also seek cabinet approval for allowing foreign direct investment in the state-owned network, but passenger services would be excluded.
“The bulk of our future projects will be… by the PPP model,” he told India`s parliament, referring to public-private partnerships.
India`s railway, the world`s fourth-largest, has suffered from years of low investment and populist policies to subsidise fares. This has turned a once-mighty system into a slow and congested network that crimps economic growth.
The decision to push private investment signals the appetite Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s new government has for taking tough and unpopular decisions he has said are needed to revive the economy.
Meanwhile Indian Railways will borrow less at Rs 11,790 crore from market through its two companies IRFC and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for capital expenditure during 2014-15. The estimated market borrowing by these two companies during current fiscal were pegged at Rs 13,800 crore from markets, as per the interim Railway Budget for 2014-15 tabled in February.
Thus, there has been downward revision in the market borrowing plan by Rs 2,010 crore for the current fiscal.
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