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Besides announcing the setting up of schools and colleges on the railway land, Banerjee is also expected to propose privatisation of various railway projects.
“It will be a pro-people budget and Bengal will smile. There will be a number of new projects. Private participation in Railways will increase manifold,” said a senior railway official.
In her close party circles, Banerjee has said she will try and increase the five per cent budget outlay for PPP models initiative that was presented in her last budget to around 20 per cent. The railways has a land bank of 1,34,000 acres. The majority of the land is at present under encroachment. It is expected to free the land and lease it out to private parties to set up various projects.
The railways is also expected to tie up with private parties and set up multiplexes, multi-funtional complexes, hotels, auto hubs, goods depot etc.
Banerjee will also likely announce half-a-dozen Duranto trains (non-stop Express trains) and Garib Raths. More model stations are expected, a majority of which, however, will be in Bengal.
The minister is also likely to announce a suburban terminal at Howrah. The project plan is ready and, according to railway sources, it will be a two-storied complex. Railway tracks will be laid on the first-floor whereas a multi-functional complex will be set up on a PPP model on the ground floor.
Banerjee has already hinted there will be some more trains for North Bengal.
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Indian railway needs much more than traditional budgeting. Main lacuna of the most comfortable and cheap means of transport, the railway, is that it is suffering from great infrastructural short fall. According to my calculation railway has not even doubled its infrastructure after independence. With automobile industry of India adding rolling stock almost equal to railway rolling stocks each year. Railway urgently needs to triple rail lines and needs to increase rolling stocks by 5 times in short period. To achieve this goal massive and unimagined investment is needed which cab come from global railway bond issue in black or white money in commodity like steel, cement, diesel or electricity. These very low interest infinite bonds should only be repayable in form of services over next 20 years without premature withdrawal facility and with easy transferability. Any Chinese steel co can purchase these bonds in lieu of steel. Include Pakistan and Bangladesh railway also, if they agree, in this project for peace without which nothing is possible. Alok, Gwalior.