“Nothing Like A Private Airlines In Railways”

Hours before the debate on his railway budget, a combative former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi defended his actions in an interview with Outlook. Excerpts:

Are the railways moving towards privatisation?

Railways have been totally insulated from any kind of privatisation as far as operations are concerned. The operation areas are signalling, tracks, rolling stocks. We are only using private sector for developing stations, manufacturing rolling stock as you have no money to invest in setting up factories. There is nothing of privatisation. There is nothing like a private airline in railways except on the freight side, but there too, the tracks are ours. We are losing the focus in just argument for the sake of argument. If you are not going to raise the fare, where is the money going to come from?

There is a charge that the Planning Commission has framed your budget.

Whether the general budget or the rail budget, we’re bound by the oath of secrecy. There has to be confidentiality. As far as consultation goes, you can consult the whole world, how does it matter? As far as the Planning Commission goes, you give them your requirement and I had given them my requirement of Rs 45,000 crore, but got only Rs 24,000 crore.

You’ve often spoken of inviting Warren Buffett to invest in Indian Railways. How far has it come about?

They’re in serious talks. They say, make the Indian Railways healthy. First of all, you have to make sure you’re in a position to sustain yourself. Warren Buffett can lend me the money but I can only take it if I can service the debt.

There are increasing concerns over investments being sought via PPP and how rules are being tweaked to favour some. Isn’t there concern that the route to privatisation may land railways in further mess?

Where is the question of privatisation? For the next 100 years, Indian Railways will not be privatised, take it from me. There is no talk of privatisation at all.