It takes a lot of courage to talk of big plans, particularly when it is public knowledge that you are heading an organisation that is struggling to make its ends meet.
For the Railways Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, courage appears to be in no short supply as he insists the Indian Railways is the engine of growth for the world.
In an interaction with
Edited excerpts:
Is Railway Budget the right time to decide on fare hike?
Budget is not the only time or the best time….What is very important is planning. People appreciate certainty. Everybody must know in advance what they have to pay.
When people plan their travel, they should know in advance that if they travel in certain months they might have to pay more… What we need is a good plan.
What is your plan for the Railways?
Left to me, I will plan for the next 50 years. Railways is now a 150 year (old) system, it has outlived its utility. Now we need a paradigm shift. We need to modernise the entire system.
Can you share some short term plans, for the next one year or so? Railways financial health is no secret. You have earlier said passenger fares have to be increased intelligently…
I won't be talking about the budget at all. This budget will be very different.
Why are you all so interested in passenger fares? The poor have to be taken care of. In a democracy, there are multiple parties. Everybody has to move together.
What is your biggest concern today?
My biggest concern is safety. We run 19,000 trains every day, move two crore passengers daily, have an employee base of 14 lakh people.
Safety is just not possible without automation. We need to have better signalling systems that allow automatic control to prevent accidents.
For all your modernisation plans and automation, you need funds. Where will you get them from?
I have to look at the Railway system as a whole. Almost 30 per cent of revenues can come from stations. Almost 20 per cent of revenues can come from providing catering.
I have to look at new models of getting public private partnership. At the same time, the Railways will also have a social justice responsibility, difficult and rural areas need connectivity.
We have to provide connectivity to the marginalised. But, Railways' attempts in the last few years at starting PPP have failed…
I do not want to talk about what has happened in the past.The past has to be looked at to learn lessons.
I am waiting for reports of committees on modernisation and safety headed by Mr Sam Pitroda and Mr Anil Kakodkar.
Don't you think Indian Railways already has many reports suggesting what should be done?
Earlier (technical) reports did not suggest financial modelling. I am looking at developing a sustainable revenue model.
What are the investment requirements of Railways?
India requires $1 trillion investment in infrastructure sector in the next Five-Year Plan. I expect at least 50 per cent of that - $500 billion – to happen in the Railways system.
Are you assured of budgetary support from the Finance Ministry and Planning Commission? The Railways has not been listening to their calls for passenger fare hike.
I have all the support. There are three broad sources of funds for us – Gross Budgetary Support, internal generation and public private partnership.
All areas are equally important. There should be equal contribution from all three sources.
Still, don't you feel Railways has no dearth of plans? The issue has been implementing the plans.
I repeat we do not want to talk of past experience. We will look at every thing, we have to think differently.
How do you intend doing things differently?
I am looking working out good models that attract private investment. The Railways should attract investments from Warren Buffet….
Have there been discussions with him?
(After a pause, and “I won't tell you that” glare): I have opened my channels…I am looking at a model where I can avoid the interest burden given that huge investments are required.
So you are talking about attracting equity investment?
Yes. We do need a mix of debt and equity. But it has to be balanced, since we are talking about huge investments. Today the bottom line: India cannot grow without the growth of Indian Railways.
The world is looking at India to support their growth. Factories across the world – US, Canada, Japan -- will run if Indian Railways grows. Indian Railways is the engine of growth for the world. It started building autobahns…We have to understand our strengths.
Many investors who have invested in Railways, including those who invested in container trains do not have a good experience to speak of.
They need to come to me with a definite plan on what can be done in very simple terms.