December 28, 2017
Partha Pratim Roy speaks on the misplaced priorities of Railway Ministry
FULL TRANSCRIPT
The Bullet Train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai has a construction cost of around Rs 1,10,000 crore. This is more than the Dedicated Freight Corridor which costs Rs 81,000cr but enables freight transport across 9 states.
Rs 22,000 crore of the total cost of the Bullet Train is to be financed by the Indian government. This amount itself is more than the annual budgetary support to the Railway Safety Fund, which is Rs 20,000 crore.
Although the government claims that the terms of Rs 88,000 crore loan from Japanese government tantamount to a grant, it is a significant burden on India. Due to the lock in period and the nature and the strengthening nature of Japanese currency, India could have to pay as much as Rs 1,50,000 crore as repayment if it repays in 20 years.
The 0.1% rate of interest is thus very high considering the average rates of interest in Japan are around 0% and the interest rate offered by the Central Bank of Japan on loans are -0.1%.
The government should not be prioritizing bullet trains when an average of 115 railway accidents happen every year and more than a lakh posts for railway safety officials are lying vacant.
