INDIAN RAILWAYS EFFECTING
SEVERAL REFORMS SAYS B.DATTATREYA
Minister of State
for Railways, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya has said that Indian Railways
has been effecting several reforms so as to make it an efficient,
strong and customer friendly organization. Shri Dattatrya was
speaking at a National Conference ‘Logistics by Railways’ organized
by Confederation of Indian Industry in collaboration with Indian
Railways. Shri Dattatreya said that Railways have been strengthening
their finances regularly over the years. He said that the Government
has almost doubled the Railways’ Plan allocation to Rs.27600 crore
in the Tenth Plan from Rs.15200 crore in the Eighth Plan period.
The Minister pointed out that a ten-year manpower planning programme
is under implementation as part of concrete austerity measures
undertaken by Railways. With this, the staff cost is proposed
to be reduced to about 35 per cent of the gross traffic receipts
within the next 10 years. The Minister said that the operating
ratio which had once sored to alarmaing high to 98.8 per cent
in 2000-01 is likely to be brought down to 94.4 per cent this
year. He said that the Railways is taking several measures to
mobilize resources internally from non-traditional sources such
as leasing of "right of way’ for laying optic fibre cables,
commercial utilization of land and air space and commercial publicity
on rolling stock and station buildings. Shri Dattatraya said the
Railways have decided to increase its share in total freight traffic
from the present 40 per cent to 50 per cent in the next ten years.
The steps taken to realize this target include, rationalization
of classes of commodities, delegation of powers to Zonal and Divisional
Railways for devising marketing strategies at local level, introduction
of high speed refrigerated parcel vans, continuation of Volume
Discount Scheme and extension of Roll-on-Roll-off services. The
Minister also informed that a Railway Traffic Regulatory Authority
is proposed to be set up in the Tenth Five Year Plan to oversee
pricing of the passenger and freight traffic services to ensure
rational transparent and competitive pricing. Underscoring the
Railways’commitments to safety, the Minister said that the safety
related works are in full swing from the Rs.17000 crore Special
Railway Safety Fund and from the normal funds. The Minister said
that the Railways is also making efforts to promote public private
partnership. The Minister said the Railways is committed to provide
efficient and modern logistics service to all its users encompassing
complete ambit of services.
In his key-note address
the Chairman, Railway Board, Shri I.I.M.S. Rana said that Indian
Railways is fully geared to offer complete logistic functions
to its customers. Shri Rana said that in order to improve logistic
functions Railways have developed Freight Operation Information
System (FOIS) and its phase-I namely Rake Management System has
become functional. Emphasising the need for increased use of information
technology, Mr. Rana said that the Indian Railways is also exploring
to develop its own logistic portal where the entire band of freight
and passenger business related products and services will be offered
to customers.
Mrs. V. Viswanathan,
Additional Member of Finance officiating as Financial Commissioner,
Railway Board also addressed the separate session on the theme
‘strengthening the Railway Finance’.
