Statement from Arvind Mahajan, Head of Infrastructure and Government services, KPMG in India on Railway Budget

Mr. Arvind Mahajan, Head of Infrastructure and Government services, KPMG in India on Railway Budget announced today :

Suresh Prabhu’s first Budget sets the vision for transformation of Railways to become an engine of economic growth for the country and reverse years of under investment. An investment of nearly $137 bn is proposed in railways over the next 5 years. At heart of this vision enhancing customer experience and making travel safer while modernizing the railway infrastructure and services but at same time ensuring the railways are financially sustainable. In the short term the focus on augmenting and leveraging existing track infrastructure is a step in the right direction to make railways more viable.

To finance these initiatives steps to enhance greater private sector participation  through PPP/JVs in rail connectivity projects and station re-development & funding from bilateral and multilateral sources  are essential.

The transformation will also include reform of the railway governance structure, change in accounting , modernizing IT systems  and emphasis on HRD, without which change will not be sustainable.

Mr Prabhu set an ambitious reform agenda  – now he needs to ensure the key initiatives are executed flawlessly and we can see tangible difference in service.