Title - Focus on safety and modernisation of trains, says ASSOCHAM study

By Express News Service - KOCHI 24th February 2013 08:52 AM
Though the Railway budget 2013-2014 would be a bag full of promises announcing  new trains for the country, the passengers strongly believe that the Railway Ministry should focus on the safety and modernisation of the existing trains, as per a recent report by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

“There is a need for heavy investment in safety-related areas like efficient signaling, GPS-based train control and implementation of a corporate culture that leads to train safety,” the study said.

Also, special emphasis should be given to improve the existing tracks.

Apart from this, the study stated that there is a need to separate passenger and the freight traffic into two entities. The survey conducted across 20 cities in the country, interviewing 7,000 persons, showed that 65 per cent of the passengers favoured an improvement of existing trains. They asked for a moratorium with respect to the introduction of  more passenger trains.

Majority of the respondents felt that private sector participation in Railways would be possible if the investors are convinced that the government is committed to run it  profitably.

Assocham also suggested that the operations of the