The Railways is mulling to sell prime land parcels to raise the funds and to not burden the exchequer.
The Indian Railways is all set to make the gigantic investment of Rs 48,000 crore in suburban Railway infrastructure of Mumbai and Bengaluru to upgrade the suburban trains in the respective region.
According to a report in the Economic Times, the Railways is mulling to sell prime land parcels to raise the funds and to not burden the exchequer.
"A self-funding model is being worked out, as part of which private developers and operators will also be engaged," the report stated.
This would be the second largest Greenfield rail development project undertaken by the Narendra Modi-led government, after the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor project, added the report.
"Rail infrastructure in both cities is overburdened and creaking. We are planning to build elevated corridors along existing rail lines, given the lack of land, to increase capacity. Stations would be upgraded to airport-like terminals where arrivals and departures would be separate," the official told ET.
Meanwhile, this year is expected to bring in some early good news for wagon makers and firms providing railway infrastructure with the Railway Board set to put an end to inordinate delays in awarding of tenders as communicated in the closing days of last year.
"Railway Board vide various letters had emphasised for timely settlement of tenders. In a complaint investigated by Railway Board, it has been observed that there is a long time gap between the opening of the tenders and their finalisation, which is not normal. In this context, it is once again reiterated that all tenders should be finalised within the normal validity period," a letter written by the Railway Board to all its production units as well as other departments said recently, urging to fix definite timelines for execution of every contract.
The biggest beneficiary would perhaps be the wagon makers who are still awaiting awarding of a tender for 9,500 wagons expected in July last year.
The wagon makers were expecting the order to flow finally by the end of November, industry sources said.
"Suitable timelines within the validity period and monitoring mechanism thereof may be devised by Railways or it's production units. Strict adherence to such timelines in all circumstances should be ensured," the letter written by Railway Board deputy director Santosh Mitral said.
Despite plans to spend close to Rs 8.5 lakh crore to beef up Indian Railways, the wagon makers, a key component of the department's freight revenue generation, have been bleeding profusely primarily due to lack of adequate orders caused primarily due to recurring delays in awarding these wagon contracts.
The only wagon order given in 2017 was for about 2,500 wagons.
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 "Railways to invest Rs 48,000 crore to upgrade Mumbai, Bengaluru region")
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