Indian Railways will never be privatised: Piyush Goyal in Lok Sabha

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday asserted that Indian Railways will never be privatised but said private investment should be encouraged for more efficient functioning.

Replying to a discussion on Demands for Grants for Railways, Goyal said there has been no death of any passenger due to a rail accident in two years and the railways has been putting enormous focus on passenger safety.

He said the country can progress towards high growth and create more employment opportunities only when the public and private sectors work together.

"Indian Railways will never be privatised. It is a property of every Indian and will remain so," the minister said, adding that it will remain with the government of India.

Goyal said the Modi government has hiked investment in railways to Rs 2.15 lakh crore in 2021-22 fiscal, from Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2019-20 fiscal.

"We are focusing on passenger safety. I am happy to say that there has been no passenger death in past two years. The last death due to train accident happened in March 2019," the minister said.

"People criticised lockdown, but had it not been done, continuation of train services would have spread Covid-19 across the country. Railways arranged about 4,600 Shramik Special trains for migrant labourers with distribution of about 2 crore free meals and water bottles," added Goyal.