With the Indian Railways registering better-than-expected growth in traffic operations this financial year on the back of a revival in the economy, its gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to cross the 9 per cent mark by the end of this financial year. This could lead to a rise in the freight rates of some commodities, say officials in the ministry.
Under the plan being worked out, the labour component of the railway projects, which include the expansion of train lines or conversion of line gauge, would be funded from NREGS, as most of these projects require a large labour force and generate employment opportunities in rural areas.
The recommendations forwarded by the consultant will be put up for discussions among trade bodies and port authorities.
Among the proposals considered today includes a project to construct a railway link between Rohanpur and Singhabad to facilitate transit traffic from Bangladesh to Nepal through India. Railway ministry sources indicated that the ministry had no objections to opening the additional transit route to Bangladesh.
Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said India will forward its domestic goals on climate change as its action plan under the Copenhagen Accord to the Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Overall, the railways intend to build 66 MFCs at a cost of Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) each. MFCs would provide rail users with facilities like shopping, food stalls and restaurants, book stalls, telephone booths, medicine and variety stores, budget hotels and underground parking.
Contrary to expectations, the revised fare structure under the 'Tatkal' scheme of the railways has given a boost to the ticketing earnings of the railways.
A senior official at the ministry said: "Our revenue earnings have been better than the 7 per cent growth we had estimated. Revenue from freight traffic has registered a strong growth rate. If the trend persists, we are likely to earn more than the revenues estimated earlier this year."
An official spokesperson of Oerlikon Graziano said, "In the domestic market in India, we have good order position, while in Europe and the US, due to the overall recession, things are a little slower. The Graziano management has taken a decision to grow its business in the Indian market."
In fact, with the increasing penetration and use of the internet, IRCTC's ticketing revenue has seen an increase of 462 per cent over the past three years. From Rs 704.9 crore (Rs 7.04 billion) in 2006-07 and Rs 1,744.7 crore (Rs 17.44 billion) in 2007-08, the corporation got Rs 3,966.98 crore (Rs 39.66 billion) from sale of online tickets last year.
In the first four months of this financial year, Indian Railways' (IR) earnings from commercial publicity have declined by 14 per cent over the corresponding period last year.
The ambitious Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion), 3,289 km Dedicated Freight Corridors are a case in point. Although the project started under former railway minister Lalu Prasad and was renamed Diamond Rail Corridors by incumbent Mamata Banerjee, not a single project has been awarded yet.
Going strong on its green run, the railways have decided to replace the electrical multiple units (EMUs) it uses to operate 2,415 trains in Central Railway and Western Railway zones with those running on three-phase Insulated Gate Bi-polar Transistor (IGBT) technology.
Currently, major port projects have to get clearances under the Coastal Regulation Zone notification of 1991 and an environmental clearance from the central government.
Kingfisher has five A330-200s currently operating in its fleet, which ply between India and the United Kingdom. Deliveries are pending for another 15. Contacted by Business Standard, a company spokesperson said the airline did not ". . .envisage making any changes to the order book at this time".
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