a. Use of fire retardant materials inside coaching vehicles;
b. Multi-tier protection for electric circuits;
c. Provision of portable fire extinguishers in AC coaches, Guard-cum-luggage break vans, pantry cars and locomotives;
d. Introduction of electrical induction based cooking appliances in replacement of LPG in pantries and e. Intensive checks on parcel vans and Guard-cum-luggage break vans against explosives and inflammable materials. Financial Health ...
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10. Madam, I firmly believe that Indian Railways is primarily a commercial organization and it must operate in a financially self sustaining manner. Major segments of its business - freight as well as passenger - should be market driven, address needs of users, provide value for money and avoid tendencies to exploit its dominant presence in the transport sector.
11. Inadequacy of financial resources is a key constraint to Railways following the desired path. Aspirations of the people channelized through their elected representatives for extending the rail network to their regions are all valid and need to be respected. In fact, Railways have happily acknowledged and accepted many of these. Despite limited availability of funding, Railways have been able to implement and complete many projects of new lines, doubling, gauge conversion, metropolitan transport, road over/under bridges in addition to construction of workshops, improvement of user services and electrification.
12. I wish to place on record my appreciation of the initiative of the State Governments of Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana for agreeing to share cost of several Rail projects in their respective areas, and appeal to other State Governments to follow suit. This will go a long way in catalysing creation of Rail infrastructure for overall national growth. 6
13. While efforts of the government to provide precious financial resources for growth of Indian Railways would undoubtedly continue, the phenomenal investment needs of rail infrastructure cannot be met entirely through Gross Budgetary Support, Internal Generation of Railways and Market Borrowing. Railways have therefore started targeting private investment in rail infrastructure to bridge the gap. Public Private Partnership (PPP)
14. Investment in Railways is being stepped up by partnership with the private sector. PPP projects related to rolling stock manufacturing units, modernisation of railway stations, multi-functional complexes, logistics parks, private freight terminal, freight train operations, liberalised wagon investment schemes, and Dedicated Freight Corridors are in the pipeline and offer excellent opportunities for private investment in the 12th Plan.
15. Apart from attracting private investments from domestic investors in rail sector, a proposal is under consideration of the Government to enable Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to foster creation of world class rail infrastructure.
16. Rail Land Development Authority was set a challenging target of raising Rs 1,000 crore in the Budget 2013-14. I am happy to report that they are on course and have already raised Rs 937 crore so far. Modernisation and Technology Induction
17. Within available resources, Indian Railways have always endeavoured to usher in new technology for modernisation and enhanced delivery to rail users. Dedicated Freight Corridors for exclusive running of heavy haul freight trains, High Speed Trains Project, and Semi-High Speed project are recent initiatives taken in this direction. Dedicated Freight Corridor Project
18. Implementation of the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors project is making good progress with the award of nearly 1,100 km of civil construction contracts till now. During 2014-15, another 1,000 km of civil construction contracts are targeted, besides award of Systems contracts. High Speed Trains Project
19. As agreed between Honourable Prime Ministers of India and Japan in May 2013, a joint Feasibility Study for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed corridor, co-financed by Indian Railways and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has started in December 2013, and will be completed in 18 months.
For the same corridor, a Business Development study being undertaken by French Railways (SNCF) will be completed by April 2014. After the studies, Indian Railways will decide on further course of action and modalities for implementation of the project.
Semi-High Speed Project