New Delhi: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu stressed capacity expansion, decongestion of network and passenger safety, and said a massive Rs 8.5 lakh crore would be pumped in over the next five years to make it a viable organisation and bring back the road traffic.
He allayed apprehensions about workers being retrenched as the public transporter seeks increased private participation and said that funds would be sought from multi-lateral agencies like World Bank, ADB and IFC. Hitting out at opposition criticism, he said the Railway Budget has not discriminated against any state and listed out the enhanced allocations to states across the country.
Prabhu said, “We will have to work on many issues. There has been less investment in the Railways. We have not been able to put in money and as a result Railways has lost to roads in attracting goods traffic. Less investment has also led to clogging of the network and delays in train movements.” Stating that Railways would require Rs 8.50 lakh crore in the next five years, the Minister said that Rs 2 lakh crore would be utilised for network decongestion and an equal amount would be spent for network expansion.
