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Indian Railways achieved an earnings growth of 14.54 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year even as working expenses grew 4.22 per cent, lower than the budgeted estimate of 7.68 per cent, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said. While Prabhu did not share specific details of the earnings and the expenses during the quarter, the announcement marks the first time the Railways has announced its quarterly growth figures, a key step to bolstering the national transporter's financial profile amid the huge requirement for fund raising from the market.
"In the current financial year, a plan outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore has been made. The implementation of Budget announcements is making steady progress and 79 announcements have already been implemented. I've decided to regularly present the performance of Railways in every quarter," Prabhu said in a letter to the media. He, however, did not mention the low volume growth, particularly in the passenger segment, registered of late.
The ministry spent Rs 1,045 crore on doubling projects in the first quarter compared to the targeted Rs 835 crore; Rs 1,557 crore on new lines compared to the targeted Rs 1,189 crore; Rs 690 crore on gauge conversion compared to the target of Rs 637 crore; and Rs 372 crore on electrification of network compared to the targeted Rs 321 crore.
"The ministry achieved a total capital expenditure of Rs 17,734 crore during the quarter, 134 per cent more than the projected Rs 13,231 crore," he said. Railways commissioned 108 km of new lines between Agra and Etawah in the three months from April to June 2015. Also, the 122-km-long gauge conversion project was commissioned from Lehar to Iskar in Rajasthan. In addition, 150 km doubling works were commissioned by Railways to de-congest network, a major focus area of this year's Budget, during the quarter.
Prabhu said the ministry fast-tracked 7,000-km-long doubling projects and 4,000-km gauge conversion projects by providing adequate funds.
To further increase the pace of project implementation, the rail ministry said it had expedited the appraisal process involving NITI Aayog and the finance ministry, apart from floating tenders in advance. Indian Railways had in the last financial year achieved an operating ratio of 91.3.
