The FICCI Tamil Nadu State Council has welcomed the Railway Budget for raising passenger fares and proposed investments in infrastructure.
The fare hike will help reduce cross subsidisation by freight rates, said a press statement from the industry body.
Investment in infrastructure will result in safety, decongestion, capacity augmentation and modernisation. Dedicated rail tracks for freight movement will bring down traffic congestion and enhance safety.
FICCI has welcomed the efforts to bring down the operating ratio from 95 per cent to 74 per cent in the terminal year of the 12th Five-Year Plan. The reference to linking fares to fuel in the near future is an interesting proposal, the release said.
However, the budgeted growth in gross traffic receipts at 27.6 per cent for the next fiscal is an ambitious target, given that the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in gross traffic receipts for the decade ending 2010-11 was only 10.4 per cent. The freight earnings target for next fiscal at 30.2 per cent may be difficult to achieve.
The surplus of receipts over expenditure post dividend has been revised downwards from Rs 5,158 crore to Rs 1,492 crore. This shows a sharp deterioration in railway finances, which is not healthy, the release said.
The Railway Budget for 2012-13 is an attempt to put the Railways finances back on track through revenue mobilisation efforts. FICCI welcomes the focus on revenue mobilisation in the budget, but implementation should be given top priority, FICCI said.
Hindustan Chamber of Commerce
The Hindustan Chamber has welcomed the emphasis on the safety, modernisation, decongestion of railways.
Plans to set up an independent Railway Safety Authority is laudable, it said in a press release. Efforts to redevelop stations and maintain them on pattern of Airports under the newly developed “Indian Railways Station Development Corporation” is a much needed step, it said.