Railways to form SPVs for infra development

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today said his ministry will form special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with 17 state

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu with MoS for Railways Manoj Sinha and Railway Board members giving finishing touches to the Railway Budget 2015-16 in New Delhi on Wednesday February 25, 2015 Picture by Dalip Kumar

s to develop railway infrastructure.

“We are creating a special purpose vehicle with each state separately. There are 17 states, who have shown interest. It would be a joint venture,” Prabhu told PTI on the sidelines of the function to flag off local train at Pernem station in north Goa.

He said Goa, North-Eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir are not included in this scheme.

“For the 17 states, we will create SPVs. The state will invest the capital, along with the Centre, in this company (SPV), which will be used for development of railway infrastructure,” the minister said.

According to Prabhu, Maharashtra has decided to invest Rs 10,000 crore for next five years in this company.

“Now all the states are interested in signing. This is a good thing. We can develop additional infrastructure and bandwidth,” he said.

He also announced 250 additional trains to clear the rush during forthcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which would be celebrated across Maharashtra’s Konkan region and Goa in September.

"Ganesh chaturthi is the most important festival in Goa. We have decided to run 250 additional trains to clear the rush," Prabhu told a gathering at Pernem Railway Station today, where he flagged off the train between Pernem and Karwar.

Several railway divisions, including Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL), Central Railway, Southern Railway and others, will pitch in to ply the special trains.

Prabhu said 17 stations on KRCL route will have wi-fi facility and escalators will be installed in the stations, including Margao, Ratnagiri, Kankavali and Thivim.