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Lok Sabha
Efforts are being made by the Indian Railways to generate internal resources by increasing the earnings and managing the expenditure. As regards increasing the earnings, the initiatives taken under freight business segment include plans to improve throughput through increased productivity and efficiency, reduction in wagon turn around time, simplification and rationalization of preferential traffic schedule, electrification of diesel sidings, engine-on-load scheme, terminal incentive scheme introduction of electronic payment gateway facility, simplification and rationalization of goods tariff, new premium registration scheme, wagon investment scheme, development of private sidings through cost sharing, integrated warehouse complexes, etc. Initiatives under passenger and parcel business segments include extension of Passenger Reservation System and Unreserved Ticketing System facilities to more and more locations, speeding up of trains, review of trains with low patronage, deployment of additional coaches in well patronized trains, additional leasing of parcel space in certain nominated trains, leasing of vacant compartment of guard in front of SLR coach, etc.
Similarly, it has been a constant endeavour on the part of the Railways to avoid wasteful expenditure and control the growth of the non-plan expenditure. The Railways have been taking a number of austerity/economy measures such as improving staff productivity by better man-power planning, asset utilization, inventory management, fuel consumption etc. to keep the expenditure under control.
These efforts have resulted in increased internal resource generation of the Railways and the same facilitated an increased appropriation to various funds by Rs. 1861 crores over the budgeted figure of Rs. 10140 crores in 2004-05. It also enabled the Railways to discharge the deferred dividend liability by Rs. 483 crores. Further, the Operating Ratio for 2004-05, which broadly indicates the financial health of the system, improved to 90.98% as against budgeted projections of 92.58%. In the first quarter of current fiscal also, earnings show a substantial growth of Rs. 700 crores vis-à-vis proportionate targets, indicating a healthy growth of 16.7% over the corresponding period of the previous year.
This information was given by Minister of State for Railways Shri. R.Velu in written reply to a question by Shri Kamla Prasad Rawat in Lok Sabha today.
BSC/HK/TR-124/05
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