New Delhi Union railway minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that the Indian Railways will never be privatized, even as he said that private investment in the sector should be encouraged to enhance infrastructure and passenger services.
During a discussion on demands for grants for railways in the Lok Sabha, Goyal said, “Let me make it clear, the Indian Railways will never be privatised, Indian railways is India’s asset and will continue to remain so and belong to the people.”
The Lok Sabha later passed the Demands for Grants for Railways for 2021-22.
“If a railway line is installed should there not be the need to ensure good services to the passengers and higher speed trains? And in that if any private investment comes, I feel it should be welcomed,” the minister said, adding that the condition of railway stations across the country has improved tremendously. “There are toilets installed across all stations with separate facilities for women. We are also installing toilets for specially-abled as well.”
“If we have to make our stations at level with international standards, you can imagine how much investment that would require. We have begun the redevelopment of the Amritsar railway station at a cost of ₹230 crore which will be at par with international standards. We have selected 50 stations for redevelopment… I feel in that if private investment comes for that, it is in the best interest of the country,” Goyal said.
{{/usCountry}}“If we have to make our stations at level with international standards, you can imagine how much investment that would require. We have begun the redevelopment of the Amritsar railway station at a cost of ₹230 crore which will be at par with international standards. We have selected 50 stations for redevelopment… I feel in that if private investment comes for that, it is in the best interest of the country,” Goyal said.
{{/usCountry}}There have been no passenger deaths in rail accidents in the past two years, and the railways has put focus on passenger safety, Goyal said. To be clear, rail accidents refer to only train-related accidents such as train derailment while deaths due to trespassing are counted as human error.
In 2019, the railways allowed private companies to operate certain stations in a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The move, steered by the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC), is expected to help significantly modernise parts of a decades-old system.
In October 2019, the government decided to set up a committee to draft a blueprint for transferring the operations of 150 trains and 50 railway stations to private firms.