No privatization of railways
NEW DELHI : Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said there was no likelihood of privatizing Indian Railways, even as she admitted that several projects are not being implemented for want of funds.
The minister was speaking at the meeting of the consultative committee of members of parliament for the railway ministry on "Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Railways".
A press release said the minister "reiterated that there will be no privatization of Indian Railways".
She told the committee members that there were "many socially desirable railway projects which are not being implemented because of the shortage of funds".
Describing PPP as an instrument of mobilizing revenue, Banerjee said there was a need to adlop new vision and new thinking for the development of the railways and these have been outlined in the 'Indian Railways Vision 2020'.
She suggested that railway land, not required for immediate operations, could be used for setting up manufacturing facilities as well as for hospitals, medical colleges and training institutions.
Further, the minister also noted that the interests of railway employees and users were being "fully protected" and also "substantially advanced" through the new initiatives.
Vivek Sahai, chairman of the railway board, made a presentation on PPP proposals received by the railways.
Fuel price: Railways face Rs 460cr burden
NEW DELHI : Railways, one of the country's largest bulk consumers of diesel, are likely to face an additional burden of about Rs 460 crore on account of today's decision to hike prices of diesel and other petroleum products.
"The decision to hike price of diesel by Rs two is expected to put an additional burden of approximately Rs 460 crore on the Railway coffers," said a Railway Ministry official.
Railways foot a bill of about Rs 4500 crore annually, consuming approximately 2.3 billion litres of diesel for its 5000 diesel locomotives hauling freight and passengers trains.
The official said with over 40,000 km of tracks serviced by diesel locomotives out of the 64,000 km on the railway network, Railways will have to bear the additional burden.
However, he parried a query on whether Railways will approach the government on the issue.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has already expressed unhappiness over the move to increase the prices of petroleum products taken at a meeting of Empowered Group of Ministers, saying her party was not supporting it and sought its reconsideration.
"I am unhappy. I did not go the meeting," she said opposing the move.
Railways to set up two wind power plants
NEW DELHI : In a bid to cut down on rising power costs and carbon emissions, Indian Railways is turning to wind power. The behemoth is setting up two wind mill power plants with a target of generating 21 MW wind power by next year.
"We have finalised plans for setting up two wind mill power plants in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs 140 crores. Both the plants will generate a total of 21 MW power," said a senior Railway Ministry official.
The plants will be set up along the coastal belt of Tamil Nadu and in the desert area of Jaisalmer. Each plant would generate 10.5 MW wind power and cost about Rs 70 crore.
India's long coastline and vast desert expanses which are endowed with high wind power potentials are best suited for the wind energy generation projects.
Besides reducing the electric consumption, the wind power will also earn us carbon credits, said the official.
Railways consume 5 billion units of power a year and spend about Rs 5,500 on power bills.
"We would supply the power to the grid and it would be adjusted against our power billing," said the official.
Railways are expecting the plants to be operational by next year.
Railways have already made operational a 10.5 MW plant at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.
"We had saved about Rs 8 crore on power bills due to this plant," said the official.
Since wind power is eco-friendly, railways are expecting to earn about Rs 1 crore as carbon credits from the wind power ventures.
The largest PSU with 14 lakh employees is going green by channelising its vast resources.
From designing bio-toilets, using bio-diesel and gravity valve technique to cutting down on water wastage, railways are undertaking a series of steps to reduce emissions and global warming.
Railways explore quota for employees' wards in jobs
NEW DELHI : Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked her ministry to explore the feasibility of according some priority or providing some reservation to the wards of lower-grade employees in railway jobs.
A senior ministry official told media persons the minister had recently expressed the desire to know if wards of railway employees could be accorded some quota, even a minuscule one, in the railway jobs.
The official added that given the apex court's cap of 50 per cent in reservation of government jobs, it might be a trifle tough for the ministry to create any dedicated quota for the employees' wards.
The ministry, however, is still examining the feasibility of according some priority to railways employees' wards in its jobs, he added.
The ministry has meanwhile decided to liberalise its existing welfare scheme for railway employees, which envisages a railway job to the ward of an employee taking voluntary retirement.
As per the existing scheme, certain classes of drivers and gang men can take voluntary retirement and while taking the retirement after receiving their retirement benefits, they can also have one of his sons or daughters employed with the railways, the official said.
But the existing scheme has several lacunae due to which it has never been able to take off, explained the official.
To begin with, the schemes entitles only those drivers and gangman to voluntary retirement who have already reached an age of 55 to 57 years after completing 35 years of service.
Additionally, even their wards have to have certain technical qualifications like a diploma from the Industrial Training Institute and clear a written test and undergo a tough screening for the job.
The ministry, however, has now decided to lower both the 35 years' experience and the 55 to 57 years of age bar for the railway employees to take the voluntary retirement.
It has also decided to make the screening test for the wards of retiring railway employees less tough to accommodate them in the department.
Cleaner & safer railways in ads soon, bids called for ad agency
NEW DELHI : The 150-year old Indian Railways is set for a makeover with a new brand campaign. The ministry of railways is looking for an advertising firm that would help enhance the image of the country’s largest transporter.
“Indian railways is not only a public utility but it also provides a window into the country to foreign tourists. Over the past few years, the railways is largely associated with late trains, dirty stations and thefts,” a senior railway ministry official said.
With the Commonwealth Games in October expected to bring in lakhs of tourists into the country, railways is especially keen to rectify this impression. “We want to assure everyone that railways is a safe and friendly option for travelling,” the official said.
The railway ministry has floated an expression of interest to appoint an agency to chart out an advertising campaign that would ‘build the Indian Railways brand across multi media.’
Interested firms must have an average billing of Rs 200 crore per annum over the past three years, starting 2007-08. The deadline for submitting bids is July 16th.
The ministry is hopeful of appointing a firm by next month. Keen to overhaul its image, the ministry in May this year had also announced a country wide competition for redesigning the Indian Railways’ logo.
The logo would be a part of the proposed advertising campaign. The existing Railway logo depicts a steam engine with the emblem of India, and 16 stars surrounding it to represent the 16 Railway zones.
But the ministry was keen to have a more modern logo that would reflect the recent efforts at upgrading the railway infrastructure as well its financial turnaround.
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