With a Rs 90,000-crore surplus over five years, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad says the real change in the Railways is not about the money but the shift in thinking. “We are conscious about remaining a profit-making enterprise,” he told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview following his interim rail budget. In an interview to Gautam Chikermane and Varghese K George, he conceded a lot needs to be done to improve amenities.
The turnaround is good, but what have travellers got?
Reduction of 2 per cent in fares across classes is not a small thing. In the last five years, we made a record surplus — Rs 90,000 crore. Before that, Nitish Kumar and his alliance with the India Shining campaign ruined the Railways. Today, Indian Railways is being talked about across the world. We worked with the same people and situation and achieved this without causing trouble to anyone. This is only the beginning. We have set a high benchmark for the Railways and we have to cross that.
Interview in Hindustan Times
Showing posts with label Indian Railways. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Railways. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
What, after all, is Rs 90,000 crore?
Gautam Chikermane, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, February 13, 2009
Nothing, if you ask the people of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad’s constituency, who when told that the Railways had made a profit of Rs 70,000 crore in the four years to 2008, couldn’t relate to it. All they knew was that the fare from Hathua to Siwan in Bihar has fallen from Rs 7 to Rs 4.
Nothing, if you ask the Railway Board, who when armed with a Rs 15,000 crore surplus in 2006 and asked to reduce passenger fares by Re 1, said it would serve no end. The reality: for 88 per cent of travellers who pay an average price of Rs 10 per ticket, it does make a difference.
Story in Hindustan Times
New Delhi, February 13, 2009
Nothing, if you ask the people of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad’s constituency, who when told that the Railways had made a profit of Rs 70,000 crore in the four years to 2008, couldn’t relate to it. All they knew was that the fare from Hathua to Siwan in Bihar has fallen from Rs 7 to Rs 4.
Nothing, if you ask the Railway Board, who when armed with a Rs 15,000 crore surplus in 2006 and asked to reduce passenger fares by Re 1, said it would serve no end. The reality: for 88 per cent of travellers who pay an average price of Rs 10 per ticket, it does make a difference.
Story in Hindustan Times
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