The Hindu : National : Impressive allocation for dedicated freight corridor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 27, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Impressive allocation for dedicated freight corridor

Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: The annual plan for the railways, set at a record Rs. 37,500 crore, allocates an impressive Rs. 1,300 crore for work on the dedicated freight corridor.

The railways have planned two dedicated freight corridors, the western one connecting seaports to major production centres and the eastern one connecting Punjab to major steel producing centres. They are expected to cost Rs. 22,000 crore and will have feeder lines connected to them.

Although the allocation on this account for the current fiscal is over Rs. 1,300 crore, procedural wrangles over getting the ambitious project off the ground led to a fraction of the amount being spent. By allocating a matching amount, the railways are hoping that project would take off in earnest during the next fiscal. The corridor is central to the railways’ plan to cater to the increase in goods traffic anticipated in the coming decades.

Boost to gauge conversion

There is a lower amount for the construction of new lines compared to the allocation in the past three fiscals but gauge conversion and doubling of lines have been given a boost.

The allocation for the construction of new lines is proposed at Rs. 1,580.20 crore or almost Rs. 1,000 crore less than the expenditure this year while the other two heads would together receive almost Rs. 1,600 crore more. Despite the lower outlay, the railways propose to construct 350 km of new lines in 2008-09 as against just 155 km this fiscal. As much as 2,150 km of metre gauge tracks would be converted (1,650 km in 2007-08).

Rolling stock

The highest allocation is for purchasing rolling stock. As against Rs. 8,698 crore spent this year mainly on purchasing engines, coaches and wagons, the railways propose to spend over Rs. 11,500 crore on this account in the next fiscal.

However, this massive outlay would not provide much cheer for the industry because over 80 per cent of the amount is set aside for rolling stock already on order while just Rs. 1,766.92 crore has been set aside for new acquisitions

The emphasis on track renewals continues as is the move to construct more road over/under bridges and improve the signalling and telecommunication (S&T) systems. The outlay on all these accounts, except S&T, is marginally higher than the allocation for the current fiscal. Electrification continues to get emphasis with the proposed outlay for the next fiscal pegged at Rs. 628 crore as against the current fiscal’s spending of Rs. 455 crore. As a result, 700 route km would be electrified as against 500 in the current year.

Realising the importance of upgrading its captive workshops, including production units, the railways have set aside Rs. 1,762 crore for the purpose which is more than double the allocation for the present year and at record levels compared to outlays for the previous years.

A horizontal analysis indicates that the East Central Railway, which covers most of Bihar, continues to get prominence as far as the allocation for the construction of new lines and road over/under bridges are concerned. This zone will get Rs. 322 crore during the next fiscal for new lines and is followed by the strategically important North-East Frontier Railway (with one of its five divisions headquartered in Bihar) which will be allocated Rs. 231 crore. In gauge conversion too this railway will get over Rs. 345 crore but the top slot will be occupied by the North-Eastern Railway (Rs. 510 crore) followed by the Southern Railway (Rs. 463 crore) and the North Western Railway.

Computerisation

In doubling, the Southern Railway gets the maximum (Rs. 350 crore), followed by the East Coast Railway (Rs. 303 crore) and the South Eastern Railway (Rs. 273 crore). Computerisation will be a major priority for the Northern Railway, whose allocation of Rs. 132 crore is nearly one-third of the outlay on this plan head. In the area of level crossings, the highest amount is for the South Central Railway (mainly Andhra Pradesh) followed closely by the Eastern Railway. In track renewals, the heavily used routes of Central and Northern Railway zones will together receive over Rs. 1,100 crore, almost a quarter of the total allocation.

Rail Budget 2008-09

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National