Several industry bodies believe linking of freight charges to diesel prices, as proposed in the Railway Budget, is a step in the right direction, given current economic conditions. But other industry bodies have said this step comes at an inopportune time. They felt it will add to the burden on corporates.

“The emphasis of the Railway Minister on financial viability and fiscal discipline of the Railways is most reassuring. Financial discipline, safety and passenger amenities are inherent to the health and condition of this mode of transport”, said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General, CII.

M. Rafeeque Ahmed, President, Federation of Indian Export Organistions (FIEO), pointed out that an increase in freight rates due to higher fuel costs would add to input/business costs when there is a general slow-down in the economy.

A. Didar Singh Secretary-General, Ficci, said: “This year's Rail Budget reflects the difficult economic scenario and contains several proposals which, if implemented, would set a growth multiplier in motion.”

Assocham, on the other hand, stated that the Government has missed an opportunity for effective corporatisation of the Railways to ensure viable commercial operations.

“Capacity constraints of Indian Railways remain the primary issue to be addressed, more so, in wake of the mounting pressure on passenger and freight services and the Rail Budget could have put more focus on this aspect,” said Rajkumar Dhoot, President Assocham.

MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry applauded the introduction of “customer-centric” initiatives like Automatic Ticket Vending Machines and coin operated ticket vending machines among others.

Indian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the move of setting up an Independent Rail Tariff Authority and the steps taken for the proposed completion of the Dumdum-Noapara Metro Railway project in Kolkata by March 2013, and the construction of the East-west Corridor in Kolkata.

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