The Indian Railways organised a two-day international
conference here on Tuesday and Wednesday on rail financing.
Though the Rs 17,000 crore Railway Safety Fund is being
provided by the government and also from the safety cess collected from
passengers, the Prime Minister's Rs 15,000 crore National Rail Vikas Yojna
would require funds from non-governmental sources.
It was in this context, experts from top financial and
rating institutions around the world shared with the government officials
global experiences on funding of infrastructural projects. Speakers from
France, UK, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australia and elsewhere stressed
sustained state support for railways.
Important alternate sources of funding are the multilateral
agencies such as the ADB and the World Bank, The ADB has been funding projects
in China. Since the Chinese railway is the only one comparable in size and
operation with that of the Indian Railways, the officials were keen to learn
the Chinese experience of funding.
But if the private sector in the country fails to invest in
rail projects then the railways would have to seek alternate sources, like
export credit or unique modes of public participation as in the case of Kochi
international airport.
In fact, the failure of the privatisation of UK railway and the attempts now to "re-nationalise" it shows that the sustained state support would be vital for railway operations. Representative of the French railway emphasised this point while the HSBC expert in UK too pointed out the need for "explicit government support" for the railways.
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