Railways should consider increasing revenues through remunerative projects: Parl panel

The Indian Railways should consider increasing its internal revenues by commissioning remunerative projects and monetising vacant land available with it, a Parliamentary Panel said on Monday. Also, while the responsibility of running Bharat Gaurav trains may be given to another service provider, the monitoring mechanism should remain in the hands of the Indian Railways, said the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, which was tabled in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The Bharat Gaurav trains scheme was recently introduced by the Indian Railways with the sole purpose of showcasing the country's magnificent historical places to the public.

Under this scheme, the service provider has the flexibility to decide the business model including routes and tariff.

The committee said in its report that the unrelenting decline in internal revenue generation points towards some inherent deficiencies in the Indian Railways.

"The committee suggest the Railways Ministry to prioritize accomplishing and commissioning of remunerative projects besides exploring other commercial avenues like monetisation of airspace and vacant land etc," it mentioned.