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Railways seeks FDI route, approaches DIPP

December 10: Faced with a situation wherein it is expecting to register a loss of more than Rs 25,000 crore from passenger and other coaching services, Indian Railways is now looking at the foreign direct investment (FDI) route to fund its expansion plans, a senior official of the ministry said.

"Railways has approached the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) for making suitable provisions in the existing FDI policy for allowing the same in rail infrastructure," the official said.

"The huge losses on passenger and coaching services, which are likely to cross Rs 25,000 crore, is constraining our ability to generate adequate resources for planned investments," the official added.

Meanwhile, in order to manage its finances, railways is enforcing strict expenditure regulations and has undertaken a slew of measures to boost earnings through levy of higher busy-season surcharge on freight traffic, revision in the fuel adjustment component, revision of Kolkata Metro passenger fares, parcel rates and catering charges, the official said.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan, the railways has set a target of Rs 1 lakh crore for investment through extra-budgetary resources that includes public private partnership (PPP) as well as other sources/modes in several areas, such as logistics parks, private freight terminals, freight schemes and captive power generation.

It has also initiated steps to generate renewable energy, manufacture loco and coaches, introduce high-speed and elevated rail and dedicated freight corridors etc.

In the current financial year, till October 2013, an investment of approximately Rs 869 crore has been mobilised through extra-budgetary resources, the official said.