Up train

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav jokingly complained at a recent UPA meeting that his budget always gets overshadowed by the finance minister’s general budget. His complaint seems genuine — it is nothing short of a miracle that instead of going up, passenger fares have actually gone down in the last five of his budgets, as is the case this year. His latest budget proposes cuts in railway freight rates — which should have a softening impact on prices of commodities like petrol, diesel, steel and cement.

From making huge losses four years ago, the Indian Railways today has a surplus of Rs 25,000 crore. Through schemes like 25 per cent discount on booking freight on a return journey, the Railways has increased its freight capacity utilisation from less than half until a few years ago to 75 per cent today. If it can be further increased to 90 per cent, Lalu could double his revenue surplus to Rs 50,000 crore. Online tendering and auction of Railway scraps is another initiative that has helped him increase annual earnings.

Despite his achievements, Lalu still has a few tasks cut out. General cleanliness and catering services have seen deterioration in the last few years. Meals inside trains are better today, but the quality of food available on railway stations is atrocious. Introduction of green toilets in trains is a welcome step — it will cut down on filth on railway tracks. However, he must find a way to increase the passenger capacity on trains. Incidents of crime in trains are rising and warrant immediate attention of the Railway minister. Finally, there is plenty of scope for improvement in the train running schedules.

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