Lok Sabha Question No. 415 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-24
Subject: Debt Burden of the Indian Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ms. S Jothimani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 415

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2024

## DEBT BURDEN OF THE INDIAN RAILWAYS

415  MS. S JOTHIMANI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  profit/loss  reported  by  the  Indian  Railways,  since 2014, year-wise;
- (b) the  details  of  the  debt  burden  (in  terms  of  rupees)  of  the  Indian Railways since 2014;
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  CAG's  findings  about  the Indian Railways' finances entering the 'concern zone';
- (d) if  so,  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  towards  generating revenue and ensuring financial management; and
- (e) the manner in which the Government intend to modernise current railway infrastructure including railway tracks, signalling systems, electrical systems, etc.?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION &  BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  415  BY  MS.  S  JOTHIMANI  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 24.07.2024 REGARDING DEBT BURDEN OF THE INDIAN RAILWAYS.

(a) to (d) Indian Railways has a major social obligation. It provides a huge  amount  of  subsidy  for  passenger  travel  etc.  In  FY  2022-23 GLYPH<1> 40,190 crores was spent on Social Service Obligation. Despite these constraints Railway finances are maintained in a sustainable manner. There is no specific mention of Indian Railways finances entering the 'concern zone' in the CAG audit report.

## Details of revenue receipt are as under:

| Financial Year        | Revenue Receipts ( GLYPH<1> in crore)   |
|-----------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 2014-15               | 1,61,017                                |
| 2015-16               | 1,68,380                                |
| 2016-17               | 1,65,382                                |
| 2017-18               | 1,78,930                                |
| 2018-19               | 1,90,507                                |
| 2019-20               | 1,74,695                                |
| 2020-21*              | 1,40,784                                |
| 2021-22 *             | 1,91,367                                |
| 2022-23               | 2,40,177                                |
| 2023-24 (Provisional) | 2,56,093                                |

## Details of debt repayment are as under:

| Financial Year   | Debt Repayment ( GLYPH<1> in crore)   |
|------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2014-15          | 12,473                                |
| 2015-16          | 13,628                                |
| 2016-17          | 15,196                                |
| 2017-18          | 16,505                                |
| 2018-19          | 18,571                                |
| 2019-20          | 20,304                                |
| 2020-21          | 23,386                                |
| 2021-22          | 28,702                                |
| 2022-23          | 34,189                                |
| 2023-24          | 38,030                                |

(e) A number of works have been taken up to modernize and upgrade railway  infrastructure  including  railway  tracks,  signaling  systems, electrical systems etc. Some of them are as under:

Locomotive:  Railways  has  taken  long  term  plan  to  acquire  new technology  12000  HP  electric  locomotives  and  9000  HP  electric locomotives for freight operation.

Traction  Distribution  System:  Existing  1X25  KV  system  is  being upgraded to 2X25 KV system in phased manner.

Coaching Stock: Indian Railways has taken steps in modernisation of Coaching  Rolling  stock  wherein  Vande  Bharat  Chair  Car  Trains  with enhanced safety features, better ride index, and passenger amenities have been introduced. Further, Indian Railway has planned to manufacture  Vande  Bharat  sleeper  rakes  at  IR  Production  Units  for long and medium Inter-state journey. In addition, Vande Metros have been  planned  to  revolutionize  the  travelling  experience  of  suburban and regional commuters for inter-city short distance movement as well as for suburban commuters, harnessing the features of Vande Bharat.

IR has introduced complete Non AC Amrit Bharat Trains to meet the of  masses  which  have  advanced  features  such  as  CCTV ergonomically designed  Seat  &  Berth,  Improved  Luggage  rack.  Improved  LED  light need surveillance, PAPIS, aesthetically pleasing and fitting and charging sockets etc.

Wagon:  25T(Higher  Axle  Load)  wagons  (BOXNHL  (25T),  BLCS,  BLSS etc.) have been introduced to improve throughput: In addition, special purpose  wagons  for  Steel  Coil  (  BFNV,  BOSM,  BFNS),  Multipurpose wagon  (FMP),  For  Cement/Fly  Ash  Loading(  BTFC)  and  Auto  Carrier (ACT1, ACT2) for higher throughput have been introduced. In addition, trackside  detection  equipments  i.e.  OMRS,  HABD,  WILD  are  being introduced for detecting possible failures.

Track Structures: are taken up for modernisation with weldable track crossings to reduce number of fish plated joints. Flash butt welding is maximised in place of thermit welds by providing long rail panels and testing of Flash Butt welds by advanced technology of phased array to enhance  weld  reliability.  Railways  has  taken  up  providing  higher strength  R260  &  R350  HT  rails  with  upgraded  modern  fastening system.  Rail  grinding  is  taken  up  on  Railway  network  by  deploying state  of  the  art  modern  machines  manufactured  in  India  to  further improve asset reliability.

Station  Development:  To  provide  state  of  the  art  amenities  for  rail users,  the  development  of  stations  is  taken  up  to  make  them  city centre.

Signalling:  For  enhancing  safety  and  efficiency  of  train  operations, modernization  of  signalling is undertaken  by  provision  of  latest technologies like Kavach,  Electronic Interlocking and  Automatic Signalling.  Kavach  is  an  indigenously  developed  Automatic  Train Protection  (ATP)  system  with  safety  certification  of  highest  order. Provision  of  Kavach  is  taken  up  over  Indian  Railways  in  phased manner. Further, new and replacement works of Signalling installations are now provided with Electronic Interlocking.

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