Date:23/03/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/03/23/stories/2007032305961700.htm

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Business

Railways joins global club

Special Correspondent

To achieve 78.7 p.c. operating ratio; makes a major turnaround in finances

Lalu Prasad inaugurates global rail freight conference

Containers have bridged the gap between road and rail

— PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

A METAMORPHOSIS: Union Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav (right), and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, at the Global Rail Freight Conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Thursday said that with an anticipated operating ratio (the ratio of total working expenses to earnings) of 78.7 per cent, Indian Railways has entered the select hub of world railways which have managed to achieve an operating ratio of around 80 per cent.

Addressing delegates of the International Union of Railways (UIC) at the inauguration of the Global Rail Freight Conference-2007 (GRFC) here, jointly organised by the Indian Railways and the UIC, Mr. Lalu Prasad said Indian Railways had registered a major turnaround in its financial health with its focus on reducing the unit cost of operation.

The achievement had to be seen in the context of absence of price rise in freight and passenger segments over the last three years, he added.

The Railway Minister further said that globalisation of manufacturing practices across the world had changed the definition of rail transportation.

The Minister lauded the efforts of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the UIC for undertaking Trans-Asian Railway network, which if implemented would provide a faster and shorter land route as compared to what was being now offered by the shipping industry. The Indian Government on its part had also decided to sign the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Trans-Asian Railway, an initiative of UNESCAP, the Minister said.

Speaking on the occasion, Railway Board chairman J. P. Batra, who is also the Chairman of UIC, said the Indian Railways' investment strategy over the next decade would give top most priority to accelerate the identified projects of dedicated freight corridor, strengthen port and industry rail linkages, augment capacities of rolling stock manufacturing units and create world-class terminals and logistic parks. The project would remove the existing constraints on the network by adoption of heavier haul and longer trains. There was no doubt that as long as Indian Railways travels on the path of positive considerations and pragmatism, nothing could stop its forward march, he said.

The two-day conference, being attended by delegates from more than 25 countries, would facilitate delegates to share their experiences in rail freight transportation. Among others present on the occasion were the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Minister of State for Railway, Naranbhai J. Rathwa, Vice-Chairperson, UIC, Anne Marie Idrac, and Luc Aladiere, Chief Executive, UIC (Paris).