Strengthen foundation of Indian Railways first, says Dinesh Trivedi

Former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi said Thursday that there was a need to strengthen the foundation of the Indian Railways by way of its existing facilities.

"There is a need to strengthen the foundation of the railways first, improvement of its facilities. If the Indian Railways does not function the way it should, basic integrity of country would be at question. We must look after the Indian Railways, which is the lifeline of nation. We must have a national policy cutting across party lines," said Trivedi.

Trivedi was speaking before the presentation of the Union Rail Budget 2015-16 in Parliament.

He also questioned the practicality of introducing bullet trains considering the massive costs they would entail.

"Bullet train is 'Alice in Wonderland', a great idea, but one bullet train for one kilometer will cost about Rs.300 crores. Is it doable?" he asked.

The first full-fledged Railway Budget of the incumbent NDA Government will be presented by Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu in Parliament today.

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha has said the common man would be given prime importance in the Rail Budget and added that expansion and modernization of the Indian railways will also be witnessed in the same.

The people have high expectations from the Railway Budget and are expecting clean energy, modernization of trains, passengers' safety and rail connectivity in the north-eastern states among others this time.