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Suresh Prabhu Introduces Major Freight Reforms To Make Railways An ‘Engine Of Growth’
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu on Thursday presented the Freight and Passenger Business Action Plan 2017-18 that outlines government’s plan of expansion and capacity augmentation in the freight and passenger segments of the Indian Railways.
The aim of the reforms is to attract additional freight traffic for revenue generation and to project railways as a reliable player in the sector. The fact that the Indian Railways earns two third of its revenue from freight only makes these reforms very important.
Describing the reforms, Prabhu said, “The business plan-2017-18 was formulated to cater to the requirement of stakeholders and we have changed the policy after discussion with our customers’.
"Once railway was only option for freight so it had the monopoly. But with the change of time railways share started declining. There are various reasons like economic slowdown on global stage which affected Indian market also," the minister added.
The initiatives taken in freight sector include large-scale revamping of railway good-sheds and related infrastructure through partnerships with stakeholders, provision for discounts on the long-term freight contacts ranging between 1.5 and 35 per cent and, improve inter-modal regional connectivity and changing operational strategies to ensure efficient asset utilisation. The ministry has also planned to introduce 100 new freight terminals.
In the passenger sector, the government plans to move to paperless and Aadhar-based ticketing. Introduction of an integrated ticketing app by 2017, improvement in catering and seating and introduction of trains such as Humsafar, Antyodaya and Tejas express to meet increasing demands are also on its agenda.
Improvements will also be made to augment non-fare revenues by monetisation of Railways’ hard and soft assets. New advertisement policy that the ministry plans to introduce will generate Rs 6,000 crore in 10 years. The minister also has plans to transform the parcel traffic system to provide end-to-end solutions.
A massive surge was observed in Railway-linked stocks soon after Prabhu presented what the officials in the ministry have termed a ‘mini-budget’. The reforms introduced by the Railways are in line with budget announcements and address Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader agenda of transforming Railways into an ‘engine of growth’.
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