On Railway Budget

Date: 
Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

On the Railway Budget

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly denounces the attitude of the Central government in completely disregarding the safety aspect of the Indian railways. Safety has become a big casualty in the recent period. The railway budget presented by Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, has not provided sufficient allocations to meet the safety requirements.

The railway budget proposes introduction of 50 new trains, increase in frequency of 13 trains and extension of run of 24 trains. Nitish Kumar has not explained how the additional requirements of coaches are met. If the railways intends to use old coaches, that will lead to more railway accidents.

The rationalisation of freight structure is a camouflage to increase freight charges in the case of certain class of freights.
The railway budget proposes no substantial development programmes. It lacks vision and far sightedness.