Govt has fulfilled 103 Rail Budget promises: Prabhu

“As of now, 103 of the Budget announcements have been implemented. Every Budget announcement was made into an action point and then each point was monitored closely,” he said.  Talking about the challenges that he faced since he took charge, Prabhu said: “Railway is the only entity, where while running it you have to simultaneously look into capital expenditure, introduce reforms in the system, maintain human relations with 13 lakh employees and manage several other activities and the challenge is to do all these together.”

Regarding the issue of punctuality, Prabhu said when he took over the ministry, it was 64 per cent and now it has shot up to 82 per cent. 

“To improve punctuality, the focus is on to have an efficient system in place. For a long-term perspective, there has to be focus on capital expenditure. On the national-level, the problem is only at two or three sectors, including Allahabad and NCR, which we are focusing on. Also, operation research has been ordered and the work is being carried out by RITES.”

Cleanliness is a key area that the ministry is focusing on. “We are looking into complaints filed either by telephone or social media. Cleanliness at stations has improved considerably.”

Prabhu said the Indian Railways possesses the potential to draw investors globally. Speaking about his recent trip to Britain he said: “The discussions were very positive and focused on how they could invest in India. It was a proactive measure from the UK government. Their transport ministry is keen to collaborate with India on railways.” 

He added: “There is a huge need to kick-start global economy and all countries across the world want it. Infrastructure is the only sector that will pull the demands globally. The interest been taken by the world on investing in railways in India is phenomenal.”