<b>Subir Roy:</b> Budget should boost railway revival

In the coming financial year, railways are likely to have two new tools with which to deliver better

The railways are approaching the Budget session of Parliament, with a particularly gloomy set of numbers for the current financial year (2016-17). For the first time anybody can remember, freight loading is likely to actually go down, fall short of not just the target but the level achieved in the previous year (2015-16). This will have an obvious negative impact on revenue, with earnings likely to fall short of target by over Rs 20,000 crore. It will therefore be imperative for the railways to outline a turnaround strategy in the Budget proposals for 2017-18. Though the railway Budget will not