The 2012-13 Railway Budget will see the introduction of 75 new trains under various categories, Another 39 trains will do an extended run. A special train called “Guru Parikrama” for pilgrimage to Sikh holy places will also be introduced.
Eighty-four railway stations across India will be converted into “adarsh” stations in 2012-13. Mr Trivedi said an Indian Railway Station Development Corporation had been set up to redevelop stations. All this requires money too.
While not touching freight rates, Mr Trivedi noted that cross-subsidisation of passenger fares with freight earnings is a model that “is not sustainable over a long period”.
Mr Trivedi said he had gone in for a “generational change” rather than maintain the status quo. He said the railways would need a whopping Rs 14 lakh crores over the next decade. The minister said that taking note of the “inadequate resource generation by the railways” as pointed out by various quarters, he would set up an expert panel to consider setting up an independent Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority.
Rail modernisation over the next five years will require investment of roughly Rs 5.60 lakh crores as per the estimates of a committee headed by telecom czar Sam Pitroda.
Similarly, improving the signalling system — a crucial element in railway safety — requires Rs 39,110 crores in the next five years. He also proposed setting up a Railway Safety Authority and the induction of two new members in the Railway Board — one dealing with PPP/marketing and the other with safety/research.
The railways’ need for money extends to pending projects too, many of which have been in the pipeline for several years.
There are 487 such projects with a throw-forward liability of over Rs 1 lakh crore.
Also, there is the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojna, now being formulated, which will require an estimated Rs 5 lakh crores if it is to take off.