RailTel Corporation India Limited (RCIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Railways, has finalised plans to lay optical fiber cable (OFC) network between the four major metros by June 2001, with an investment of Rs 600 crore. The 7,480-km quadrangle will revolutionise operational safety of the Railways, which has been often plagued by accidents caused due to failures the current manual communications.
"After meeting the internal requirements, RCIL will lease out the OFC network to private parties. We have appointed McKinsey & Co to prepare a businessplan to lay and later to lease out the network along 62,800 km of tracks, connecting 8,000 stations around the country. The report is expected by mid-December," RN Kumar, additional member of telecom, Railway Board, said.
The report will cover market feasibility, project costs and means of financing along with a technical plan on capacity and quality of network, network roll-out requirements and other communication needs.
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Kumar said: "In the next phase, RailTel will lay out OFCs to connect 40 other major cities by 2002, which means 22,000 km of railway track will have a state-of-the-art communication system." It will cost amount Rs 1,760 crore, he added.
"RCIL will have to look to private players for investments for this mega project. But a formal decision on this will be taken only after the corporation appoints a finance committee," Kumar said.
He, however, ruled out the possibility of technical collaborations. "We have a strong workforce of 30,000 engineers and it is only second to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)," Kumar said.
He also expressed the hope that RCIL would turn to be a major revenue earner for the Railways.
When asked whether the corporation had to face competition from BSNL, GRIDCO or Reliance, which are also laying OFCs in the country, Kumar said: "We are in an advantageous position over them because of the rail network. After all, this is not our principal business; we have to do it to ensure passenger safety," Kumar said.
The Railways estimate that there is a ready market of Rs 6-8000 crore at present for the communication network and it is expected to grow fast in the coming years.
"RCIL hopes to corner a marketshare of 10 to 15 per cent after putting this infrastructure project in place. It is big pie and there will be enough for all the leading players," Kumar said.