My personal comments: No privatisation of railways, buses, metro, water, gas, Government services, schools, universities, colleges, hospitals and electricity in India. Nationalised utilities (like water, electricity, etc) act as charities, sell at the lowest price, and do not maiximise profit, like in France, Germany, etc. Of course, Nationalised utilities should compete with private organisations/companies if they wish. Britain copied privatisation policies of USA. All Britain’s privatisation policies failed including water, gas, buses, metro, electricity, hospitals and railways (except British Telecom for telephone and British Petroleum for petrol). British Rail was privatised and recently re-nationalised as it became bankrupt. Now British Rail is called Network Rail. Only Government can build large dams, large water reservoirs, roads, railways, metros, provide water to citizens, build large electric plants, etc as private will not do so. After privatising water, electricity, gas, government services, etc in Briatin, now British privatised companies are making excessive profits, consumers are charged high prices, consumers cannot afford and are owned by ex-enemies of Britain (like France and Germany as British privatised companies shares can be bought at the London Stock Exchange by foreigners). Create double decker buses like Britain and double decker trains/metro like Switzerland, Israel, etc to improve public transport. I advise Labour Party in Britain on economic matters at times. Comments By Tommy Wilkes: Modi faces uphill task to put Indias railways on track NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Departing Platform One at New Delhi station last week was Indias fastest train: the test run of the Delhi-Agra express - dubbed semi-high speed by local media - topped a record-breaking 160 kilometres per hour on its way to the Taj Mahal. But the velocity, though triple the 50 kilometres average clocked on trips across the country, is barely one-third of the top-speed of Chinas fastest train, showing the extent to which Indias expansive but under-funded train network has failed to keep pace.The capacity of the track is almost saturated, Anurag Sachan, divisional railway manager for Delhi, said in his office next to New Delhis giant station. We could go as high as 200 km but we would need to have a completely new track for higher speeds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who started out selling tea outside a train station, has promised to modernise Indias railways and build high-speed engines befitting Asias third-largest economy. On Tuesday, his new government will unveil its maiden railways budget, with expectations high that he will offer bold plans to improve the service - a lifeline for 23 million Indians every day. Among the goals is bringing much more private money into one of the countrys largest state-controlled industries. At present, theres small private involvement in suburban services and locomotive manufacturing. In a speech last week, Modi hinted at how much of a revamp he believed the railways needed, telling an audience in Kashmir that he wanted an upgrade of stations, many of which look much as they did under the British. Why do our railway stations need to be so old, why cant they be better than our airports? he said, after waving a green flag to inaugurate services on a stretch of track in the mountain state. PARTNERSHIPS NEEDED Modis government will announce plans for public-private partnerships in railway infrastructure, the Economic Times reported on Monday, citing government sources, and he is expected to update the country on plans for a high-speed rail between the financial capital Mumbai and Ahmedabad. If the railways are to fully benefit the climate, the economy, society, the government needs to bring in more money... including from private and foreign investment said G. Raghuram, professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and co-author of a report about railway modernisation. Raghuram said allowing private money into freight was a simple and relatively easy shift that would boost the economy. Railways share of freight has fallen from 90 percent of the countrys cargo in 1950 to one-third today, as congested tracks and slow speeds force shipments onto roads - in turn clogging them. The tougher task for Modi will be finding a sustainable fix to the funding crunch facing the railways, including by allowing foreign direct investment into the network, a move resisted by the railways in the past. [ID:nL3N0KJ34W] By a conservative estimate, the railways need 20 trillion rupees ($334 billion) of investment by 2020, according to economist Tirthankar Patnaik at Religare Capital Markets said. Thats far in excess of the 1.4 trillion rupees the sector is estimated to earn this year even after an unpopular fare-hike pushed through last month. Though there are some areas where the private sector can play a role, the bulk of the investment will have to come from the government, said Shri Prakash, a former member of the Railway Board. Prakash said Modi needs to strike a balance between appealing to private profit-seeking investors and keeping fares affordable for the millions who depend on the network. In New Delhi, railway manager Sachan said the job of the railways was to cater to the masses. High speed is definitely important but it is much more important to give transport to our poor people, he said. ($1 = 59.9200 Indian Rupees) (Editing by Richard Borsuk)
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 22:09:44 +0000
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