New Delhi, Jul 8: D V Sadananda Gowda is all set to present the Modi government's first and his own maiden Railway Budget on Tuesday, but there are already apprehensions that passengers might have to pay more as the NDA government’s priorities, like high-speed trains, Dedicated Freight Corridors and IT-based solutions for better rail operations may sap resources.
Analysts have been grappling with the question: Will the Railway Budget—as indicated by Gowda—put additional burden on passengers and make travel costly by charging for every single facility?
Gowda has been hinting at major decisions like the creation of safety fund, a proposal that has been pending for years now. The last fund created during the regime of Nitish Kumar as Rail Minister had proved to be highly useful. It contributed to improving the track capacity and signalling system.
The new rail safety fund is being contemplated basically for modernisation of safety systems. It will include measures like installing Train Collision Avoidance System and upgrading signalling system.
Keeping in view the poor financial condition of the railways and the remote possibility of getting additional financial support from the Finance Ministry for this fund, it is likely that some kind of cess would be imposed on passengers.
The orientation of Modi government indicates that it will try to do away with every kind of direct and indirect subsidies. So, there may be charges on services other than ones deemed essential.
The idea of charging the passenger for providing a facility of his/her choice is not new as it was mooted during the UPA regime by Dinesh Trivedi. Providing value added services at AC executive lounge at stations was one of such ideas. Gowda may come up with more such services.
Another aspect of the high-growth model is that it may lead to abandoning the ideas which do not help move this model ahead. The priorities may be fast-completion of such projects to add to the overall growth story that the Modi government wants to make.
Hence, those rail lines which connect mines, ports or metros (Quadrilateral Rail Network) may get priorities and others with bleak commercial prospects may be left out.
Strategic connectivity is also likely to get preference. It is to be seen what would be the response of the new regime towards the expansion of rail in remote and backward areas.
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