Railway minister Lalu Prasad’s own rath is not garib at all.
At a projected surplus of Rs 11,449.45 crore for 2007-08, the Railways are flaunting its best operating performance ever, and claim it is the best in the business.
All this is despite rising inflation (the latest figures put it at 7.63%) and the consequent rise in input cost.
Lalu Prasad has moved a step further by offering 3-8% discount on passenger fares and 5% on petroleum products and 6% on iron-ore, limestone and dolomite.
The cut in freight rates has mainly come about due to continuation of the past trend of reduction in classification. The total number of commodities classification is now 16.The highest class, applicable for petroleum products, is now 210 instead of 220. In other words, earlier the Railways were charging 120% more than the cost it incurred in transporting these commodities. It would be 110% more now. Commercial policy for freight transportation has also been modified. Freight rates still continue to be high and the reduction may not bring about any substantial impact on inflation. Responding to a query, member (traffic), Railway Board, S B Ghosh Dastidar said this should help in checking inflation.
Importantly, he mentioned that 6% cut in freight rates actually means a cut of about 12%, since the Railways have absorbed an additional 6% hike due on account of inflation.
This should be good news for steel and cement units, since freight rates on commodities used by them has been reduced.
The Railways will be chasing 785 million tonnes (MT) of freight in 2007-08, 59 mt more than the revised estimate for the current year, bringing it an additional revenue of Rs 4,644 crore. In passenger business too, it is the volume game that the Railways plan to play. Passenger earnings are expected to increase to Rs 20,075 crore from Rs 17,400 crore expected during the current year.
The Railways are eying a target of 1,100 mt freight loading and 840 crore passengers in the terminal year of 11th Plan (20011-12).
Enhancement of both moving and fixed infrastructure, therefore, assumes importance. For this, it proposes to follow the public private partnership model.“PPP is not a compulsion or fashion for us,” Lalu Prasad said in his speech. PPP options will be explored with the aim of modernisation of metro and mini-metro stations, development of agro retail outlets and supply chains, construction of multi-modal logistics parks, warehouses and budget hotel and expansion of network and increase in production capacity.
Not only two freight corridors, east and west at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore, but also four new freight corridors are being aimed to be undertaken through the PPP model. Pre-feasibility study for east-west, east-south, north-south and south-south corridors would be taken up.
The Railways also plan to introduce double and even triple stack containers on non-electrified routes.
On the passenger side, the Railways plan to take up high-speed corridors to run trains at more than 300 km/hour. According to Railway Board chairman J P Batra, those corridors where the state governments come out with proposal to help would be taken up first.
To spice up the budget proposals, there is the usual fare of eight new garib raths, 32 pairs of new trains, extension of 23 trains and construction of 2,000 km of broad gauge lines.
SOURCE : DNA MONEY
At a projected surplus of Rs 11,449.45 crore for 2007-08, the Railways are flaunting its best operating performance ever, and claim it is the best in the business.
All this is despite rising inflation (the latest figures put it at 7.63%) and the consequent rise in input cost.
Lalu Prasad has moved a step further by offering 3-8% discount on passenger fares and 5% on petroleum products and 6% on iron-ore, limestone and dolomite.
The cut in freight rates has mainly come about due to continuation of the past trend of reduction in classification. The total number of commodities classification is now 16.The highest class, applicable for petroleum products, is now 210 instead of 220. In other words, earlier the Railways were charging 120% more than the cost it incurred in transporting these commodities. It would be 110% more now. Commercial policy for freight transportation has also been modified. Freight rates still continue to be high and the reduction may not bring about any substantial impact on inflation. Responding to a query, member (traffic), Railway Board, S B Ghosh Dastidar said this should help in checking inflation.
Importantly, he mentioned that 6% cut in freight rates actually means a cut of about 12%, since the Railways have absorbed an additional 6% hike due on account of inflation.
This should be good news for steel and cement units, since freight rates on commodities used by them has been reduced.
The Railways will be chasing 785 million tonnes (MT) of freight in 2007-08, 59 mt more than the revised estimate for the current year, bringing it an additional revenue of Rs 4,644 crore. In passenger business too, it is the volume game that the Railways plan to play. Passenger earnings are expected to increase to Rs 20,075 crore from Rs 17,400 crore expected during the current year.
The Railways are eying a target of 1,100 mt freight loading and 840 crore passengers in the terminal year of 11th Plan (20011-12).
Enhancement of both moving and fixed infrastructure, therefore, assumes importance. For this, it proposes to follow the public private partnership model.“PPP is not a compulsion or fashion for us,” Lalu Prasad said in his speech. PPP options will be explored with the aim of modernisation of metro and mini-metro stations, development of agro retail outlets and supply chains, construction of multi-modal logistics parks, warehouses and budget hotel and expansion of network and increase in production capacity.
Not only two freight corridors, east and west at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore, but also four new freight corridors are being aimed to be undertaken through the PPP model. Pre-feasibility study for east-west, east-south, north-south and south-south corridors would be taken up.
The Railways also plan to introduce double and even triple stack containers on non-electrified routes.
On the passenger side, the Railways plan to take up high-speed corridors to run trains at more than 300 km/hour. According to Railway Board chairman J P Batra, those corridors where the state governments come out with proposal to help would be taken up first.
To spice up the budget proposals, there is the usual fare of eight new garib raths, 32 pairs of new trains, extension of 23 trains and construction of 2,000 km of broad gauge lines.
SOURCE : DNA MONEY
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