Indian industry lauds railway's focus on development

Indian industry on Jan. 30 hailed the interim railway budget, terming it development-oriented with its focus on renewal of tracks, passenger safety,
security and better connectivity.

"The five pronged focus on efficiency, including replacement, renewals and
de-bottlenecking, security, safety, connectivity and passenger convenience,
would enable the Indian Railways to provide a fillip to the growth and development of the Indian economy," said Anand Mahindra, president of the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

"This certainly reflects the high priority government is giving to up-gradation and modernisation of railway infrastructure," he said in a statement issued here.

Complimenting the railways for registering an impressive growth in freight traffic, Mahendra said: "The 6 percent-plus growth is in tune with the current resurgence in the economy and has been the result of the pragmatic approach and user friendly measures adopted by the railways."

Railway Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to maintain status quo on the freight and passenger tariff this year too, was also lauded as "the railways have an important role to play in sustaining and building competitiveness of Indian industry and freight tariff is a crucial factor in it."

While describing the interim budget as "populist," Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry of India (Asocham) President Mahendra Sanghi welcomed the focus on customer service and safety and introduction of new trains and extensions. He expressed hope that the full budget after the general
election would address critical issues such as new measures to bring more
revenues and optimal utilisation of railway's land.

This, he said, should be viewed in light of the competition from the road transport sector both in terms of movement of goods in small lots and its better safety record.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Y.
K. Modi said: "It is heartening that the operating efficiency of the railways have increased resulting in lower expenses and leaving additional resources with the minister, which can be passed on to the consumer in the form of betterment of railway services and higher safety."

The Rs. 200 billion programme for execution and completion of railway projects in remote areas is a step in the right direction, said Modi, expressing confidence that the programme will achieve the objective of creating employment opportunities.

"This programme will hasten the process of development of backward areas
and generate additional demand for a wide range of manufactured items," Modi
said.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) President Ravi Wig said:
"Given the fact that railways are the only high-capacity transport mode that
can meet the long-term needs of our large economy, the railway budget has
not done much to rise above the short-term focus in announcing new
initiatives.

"Strategic measures to bypass the phase of historic railway decline and entry into a renewed growth phase are missing," he said, adding that rationalisation of freight rates was essential to keep Indian Railways on track and woo back customers who moved away because of high tariffs.

Wig also emphasised the need to focus on providing dedicated corridors for movement of goods train on important routes and better connectivity from the
northern region to the ports.