Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday said that he was hopeful Rail Budget 2015, which he presented in the Lok Sabha today, will provide direction to the Indian Railways.
In an interview to state broadcaster Doordarshan News, Prabhu said it was important to sustain the Indian Railways.
“What is important is how we sustain the Indian Railways. We need to regenerate the Railways,” he said.
The minister said it was important that “people should know what has been happening and what will happen in the future”.
“When we announce something, that does not mean we announce the completion of the project,” he said when asked about implementation and completion of projects.
“Rome was not built in a day,” Prabhu said, adding “we cannot bring change in a day”.
“We will begin implementation from tomorrow. Work on many things is already underway. Most of the projects are time-lined and responsibilities have been fixed, especially for those related to customer services,” said Prabhu.
The minister stressed that he has focussed on the customers a lot in his Rail Budget.
“A major part of my Budget focussed on passenger amenities like cleanliness and toilets,” he said.
If customers realise they are getting something, they will be ready to pay, he added.
“The direction is very clear. We want to make the Railway self-sustainable and profitable. We want to put the money back into the system,” he said, when asked about the Indian Railways facing bankruptcy.
Talking about revenue generation, Prabhu said another source will be investment from the private sector.
He also highlighted the fact that for first time in Indian Railways' history, partnerships have been created with states.
