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A transparent system is being put in place to facilitate inflow of private investment, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Friday. He, however, reiterated that he does not want privatisation of the Railways but wants private capital to come in.
Speaking at a PHDCCI event, the Minister said that it is not possible to always increase the freight fares. This is despite the recent hike in railway freight rates for commodities, including coal and cement. While passenger fares have not been raised, the Railways recently doubled platform ticket prices from ₹5 to ₹10.
Prabhu said an internal committee set up by the Railways on traffic optimisation has set a target of moving 1,200 million tonne of cargo a year, which is more than the budgeted target of 1,186 million tonne of cargo in current fiscal. The Railways has set a target of moving 1,500 million tonne of freight over the next five years.
Railway Board Chairman AK Mital said 65 per cent of the major sections are saturated and the Railways are prioritising investment into building those rail links.
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