Mamata Banerjee rules out railways' privatisation

New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday once again ruled out any move to privatise the country's railroad network but said the corporate sector will be roped in the best possible manner to bridge the funds deficit.

Speaking on the debate on the railway budget for the upcoming fiscal in the Rajya Sabha, Banerjee said her medium-term focus for the ministry was well spelt out in the Vision 2020 document unveiled in December, which also speaks of private sector involvement.

"Let me assure the house there will be no privatisation of Indian Railways. I am proud of my department and I am proud of the 1,400,000 employees of railways. They also need some praise," the minister said.

"But where will all the money come from? It won't fall from the skies. I am not going to sell railway land. But there will be commercial utilisation of railway land through the public-private partnership mode," she added.

Indian Railways runs the world's second largest network under a single management with a network of 64,015 route-km to ferry 18 million passengers and some 850 million tonnes of cargo on 17,000 trains daily from 6,906 stations.

Banerjee said it was no mean achievement that her ministry was not only able to present two regular railway budgets in a spean of eight months, but also came upwith a Vision 2020 document that targets 25,000 km of double or multiple lines against 18,000 today.

She said safety, cleanliness, infrastructure, passenger comfort, potable water and tasty food will all be given due consideration, adding it was unfortunate that there were a few cases of accidents in the past which would be prevented.

"That's why I have said within the next five years, we will have all the 17,000 unmanned level crossings manned -- 3,000 during this fiscal and 1,000 next year," the minister said, referring to the high number of accidents at such crossroads.

Banerjee, who has declined to support the passage of a bill to reserve 33 percent seats in the Lok Sabha for women, also evoked some humour in the house when she addressed some of the opposition members.

"I am trying to make friends with you. But you want to pick up a fight!" she remarked, in an obvious reference to her stand on the reservation bill, which is similar to that of some opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The minister had presented the railway budget Feb 24 that sought to spare passengers a fare hike, lowered freight rates for some essential items and announced 54 new trains along with the promise of a new model for private investment in expanding the network.