• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

But technological advancements must be addressed in all seriousness: Chamber

Advertisement

Bangalore Feb. 26 The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) has commended the Railway Minister Mr Lalu Prasad's initiatives in the Railway Budget 2007-08 for setting up East-West freight corridors and to increase the container traffic five-fold to 100 million tonnes by 2011.

In his reaction, Mr Venkat Kedlaya, President of BCIC, said though the Budget was on expected lines, it was appealing for its progressive step in railways development. Being on target by achieving a surplus of Rs 20,000 crore for the year, with 17 per cent increase in freight earnings and 14 per cent from passenger traffic, the long-term profitability of the railways seemed stable.

He said though some steps were taken to introduce new facilities and additional train services, modernisation and upgradation of the Indian Railways had not kept pace with international norms. "Needless to say, the Indian Railways needs to modernise on an urgent basis to provide a lifeline of transportation and communication to the nation in keeping with its needs, size and diversity," he added.

Therefore, technological advancements, keeping in tune with the global standards, are something which the Railway Minister should address in all seriousness.

Mr Rajeev Jyoti, President & Managing Director, Bombardier Transportation, said the budget was on the back of a good GDP growth of a three-year average of 8.5 per cent.

The railways is correctly planning to invest the surplus in areas, which is in line with its medium to long-term objectives. This clearly includes growth in freight and passenger traffic.

More Stories on : Railway Budget | Industry Associations | Karnataka

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Railways not yet a threat to airlines

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line