Centre working on suburban rail policy to improve services

"The government recognises the importance of suburban rail services as it carries a large number of people. It is the time to see how to improve its services. The government is working on a policy on suburban rail. It has not been finalised," NITI Aayog Adviser Rakesh Ranjan said here on the sidelines of a programme jointly organised by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Union Ministry of Finance and Research and Information System in collaboration with Assocham.

According to a background paper on Mass Rapid Transportation Systems in India, the country's suburban rail carries a significant number of passengers, especially in cities like Mumbai and Kolkata.

From the railways point of view, the foremost concern stems from the operational losses suffered in these services. They contribute roughly 53 per cent in number of passengers of the Indian Railways' total passenger traffic but their earning share in 2010-11 was just about 7 per cent, a scenario which has not changed in last 7-8 years, the paper said.