'Railway Ministry won't hand stations to private sector': Piyush Goyal details plans

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the government has stressed that the Railway Ministry is not going to hand over railway stations to the private sector and the ownership will remain with the Railways. Goyal's statement comes months after the Indian government had hinted that it will privatise at least 151 out of the 13,000 passenger trains in India, and days after he clarified that the Railways will remain a public enterprise.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Railway Minister Goyal stated that a group of secretaries will be formed in order to speed up the redevelopment of stations.

"Railway Ministry has constituted a group of secretaries to expedite the redevelopment of 50 stations under public partnership mode. Railway has also planned to monetize assets and so far, 87 land parcels, 84 railways colonies, 4 hill railways and 3 stadiums have been identified for asset monetization," he said.

'Indian Railways Will Never Be Privatised':Goyal

Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that Indian Railways will never be privatised, however, private investments that enhance service standards for passengers should be welcomed. He said this while replying to a discussion on demands for grants for Railways for 2021-22 in Lok Sabha. He also informed that the Modi government has increased investment in railways to Rs 2.15 lakh crore in 2021-22 from Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2019-20.

"I want to make it clear that Indian Railways will never be privatised. But just like in case of government roads on which all kinds of vehicles ply, private investment in Railways that enhances service standards for the passengers should be welcomed," he added 

The Union Railway Minister also called upon the Maharashtra government to provide land for the bullet train project.

"If the Government of Maharashtra cooperates in the bullet train project, providing land, providing space for the terminal, then a world-class, Japanese technology high-speed bullet train will come to India. The land has been acquired in Gujarat and Daman-Diu, but only 24 per cent of the land has been received in Maharashtra," he said.