Indian Railways: Five Year Strategic Plan 1
Introduction
The Indian Railways has a capital base of about Rs. 100000 crore and is often referred to as the lifeline of the Indian economy because of its predominance in transportation of bulk freight and long distance passenger traffic. The network crisscrosses the nation, binding it together by ferrying freight and passengers across the length and breadth of the country. As the Indian economy moves into a high growth trajectory the Railways have also stepped up developmental efforts and are preparing themselves for an even bigger role in the future.
Review of the Tenth Plan
The Tenth Plan has seen an increased reliance on internal resources and market borrowings. The
actual mobilization of internal resources went up from a meager Rs. 3,113 crore to a sizeable
contribution of more than Rs. 12,000 crore in the final year of the Tenth Plan. The table below
shows the significant increase in internal resource generation in the last two years of the plan.
In the final year of the plan internal generation and market borrowings account for over 65% of the total resource mobilization. For the plan period as a whole these two account for nearly 55% of the resources generated.
Tenth Five Year Plan Growth in Freight and Passenger Traffic
Traffic Unit Target Achievement
Originating Freight Million Tonnes 624 726
Freight Net Tonne Kms Billion 396 479
Originating Passengers Million 5686 6242
Passenger Kms Billion&nbs ...