He said private players will be involved in running container trains, construction of dedicated freight corridors, modernisation of railway stations and establishing logistic parks and warehouses.
Union Finance minister P Chidambaram, who also attended the conference, backed the Railway Minister. "I endorse the Railway Minister's view that core activities in crucial infrastructure area like the railways could remain with the public sector. The private sector could be roped in for allied activities."
Emphasising that the railways will not be privatised as long as he remained the political head of the railways, Lalu made it clear that he did not consider the railways a monopoly player. Railways was one of the many modes of transport functioning in the market amid stiff competition, he added.
He said the role of the railways was not to disburse available finances under various heads like an accountant but leverage the limited resources whereby an investment of Re 1 brought a profit of Rs 10 in the shortest possible time.
(Source-Tribune India,06/02/07)
