Railways has Rs 8.56 lakh-crore capital investment in pipeline

Sees JV with state govts to be game changer, with seven states already having held talks on the subject

The railways was geared up to implement a medium-term capital investment plan of Rs 8.56 lakh crore, Railway Board Executive Director Namita Mehrotra said at a conference organised by the Indian Merchants Chamber.

Of this, Rs 1.99 lakh crore is slated for declogging the network, Rs 1.93 lakh crore for network expansion, Rs 39,000 crore for national projects, Rs 1.27 lakh crore for safety, Rs 1.02 lakh crore for rolling stock, and Rs 1 lakh crore for station redevelopment. Mehrotra said the funds needed would come in as Rs 2.56 lakh crore gross budgetary support, Rs  1 lakh crore from internal generation, Rs 1.20 lakh crore through joint ventures, Rs  1.30 lakh crore through public private partnerships, Rs 2.50 lakh crore as debt, Rs 1 lakh crore from leasing rolling stock, and Rs 1.50 crore from institutional financing.

She said the railways’ capital investment had risen from Rs 24,307 crore in 2004-09 to an average Rs 45,979 crore during 2009-14. The capital investment for 2016-17 is proposed at Rs 1.21 lakh crore.

Mehrotra said states had shown interest in forming joint ventures with the railways for project implementation. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana had held talks in this regard. The JV will be 51:49 equity or 50:50 equity to be held by IR and the respective state. Revenue streams will be tariff and commercial exploitation of space rights.

Prabhu informed that the Maharashtra government has already announced it will contribute Rs 10,000 crore for project implementation with teh PSU behemoth in the state. He hoped that the JV with states will be a game changer for speedy development of viable projects.

Further, Mehrotra said Railways will also form JVs with public sector units (PSUs) for construction and expansion of lines. She added that PSUs will provide funds upfront for undertaking projects.

According to Mehrotra, Railways expects broad guage lines commissioning to increase to 19 km per day from the present level of 10 km per day and it would further rise to 25 km per day in partnership with state governments.

On the establishment of railway regulatory authority, Mehrotra said it will be done through an executive order till the necessary legislative formalities are completed. She however, informed the proposed authority will be recommendatory body.