Lok Sabha Question No. 644 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-01
Subject: Improvement in Railway Infrastructure
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Bholanath (B.P. Saroj), Ravneet Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 644 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.12.2021

## IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

644.  SHRI BHOLANATH (B.P. SAROJ): SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  allow  private players to lay tracks and collect revenues in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  any  possible  additional burden on the railway commuters due to this new policy;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to introduce new technologies and financial models for improving the railway infrastructure in the country;
- (d)
- (e)
- if so, the details thereof; and
- if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) and (b): Ministry of Railways (MoR) has formulated a Participative Policy, 2012 to encourage the investment in developing rail connectivity  by  associating  strategic  partners  and  other  investors. The  policy  defines  five  Public  Private  Partnership  models  viz.  NonGovernment  Railway  (NGR),  Joint  Venture  (JV),  Customer  Funded, Build Operate Transfer (BOT) and BOT-annuity models. State Governments/Local bodies/PSUs may also participate as stakeholder for the development of new lines/gauge conversion project under the

participative  policy  of  MoR.  In  all  such  Public  Private  Partnership (PPP)  Projects,  train  operation  and  revenue  collection  continues  to remain with Railway. However, such entities get a share of revenue in lieu of owing/maintaining the infrastructure. The PPP mode has been found to be quite successful in Railways, especially in providing last mile rail connectivity to many ports and industrial clusters. Since the train  operation  &  tariff  determination  continues  to  remain  with Railways no additional burden on railway commuters are incurred.

So  far,  14  projects  of ` 9,234  Crore  have  already  been  completed through  PPP  mode.  10  more  projects  of ` 19,417  Crore  are  under implementation  including  coal  connectivity  and  port  connectivity projects  and  in  addition,  7  more  projects  of ` 13,971  Crore  have already been granted In-Principle approval, which are under development stage.

(c)  to  (e):  The  process  of  Modernization  and  introduction  of  new technologies are continuous process in Indian Railways. Adoption of modern technologies covers various facets of railway working, which primarily aimed at improving the operational efficiency and safety in Railway workings. The modern technology mainly include introduction  of  higher  horse  power  locomotives,  modernisation  of Signaling and telecommunication system, improving the  capacity of wagons and coaches, station development, introduction of increased use  of  IT-enabled  services  for  improved  customer  interface,    new technologies  in  improving  the  life-cycle    and  reliability  of    railway assets. All possible funding mechanisms are explored for modernization of railway systems and introduction of new technologies, which are met through both from Budgetary and Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR).

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