The government has no plans to privatise the Indian Railways, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday informed Parliament following questions raised over the issue by the Opposition.
“It is a pure hypothetical point...The track belongs to Indian Railways, stations…engines…coaches…electrical wires…signalling systems…[all] belong to Railways...[there is] no talk of privatisation...No plans to privatise railways,” the Minister said while replying to a discussion on Demands for Grants for the Railway Ministry for 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha.
Asked about the declining operating ratio for the Indian Railways, he said that the social obligation amount for the Railways in terms of subsidy for passenger services is a little over ₹60,000 crore. Without this amount, the operating ratio for the Railways, he said, would be around 85% instead of the current just under 100%. He, however, added that this would improve due to steps taken by Railways to increase revenues from freight.
