New Delhi: The stage is set for the Narendra Modi government’s first Rail Budget Tuesday, that is likely to aggressively seek private investment and offer a roadmap for expansion of the rail network and modernisation of stations.
In a bid to generate additional Rs 10,000 crores a year, it may unveil e-registration of wagons so the coal, power and steel ministries can book wagons six months in advance and help the railways optimise wagon utilisation.
Railway minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda is also likely to announce a proposal for a “Train Collision Avoidance System” across a 5,000-km route so that semi-high speed trains could connect major metros as part of the Golden Quadrilateral Rail Project. Mr Gowda is also likely to accept the demand of Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for a zonal railway in the state, that could be done through bifurcation of south-central zone.
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Also, sources said, the headquarters of Western Railway could be shifted to Ahmedabad from Mumbai.
The Rail Budget may also propose to set up an EMU (Electrical Multiple Unit) manufacturing plant in Varanasi, the parliamentary seat of the Prime Minister. A small railway unit may come up in Ghazipur, the Lok Sabha seat of minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha.
Mr Gowda may also provide for a safety fund to implement the Kakodkar Committee report, for which Rs 1 lakh crore is needed over five years. The minister may also clear the air on the move to allow 100 per cent FDI in non-core areas. The Railway Board favours FDI for last-mile connectivity, manufacture of coaches/wagons, modernisation of stations, among other areas.
