Indian Railways chugs along despite hiccups

The Railways had to grapple with shortfall in revenue targets and "unbearable burden" of Pay Commission recommendations in 2015 and hopes to address the twin issues next year.Though earnings were up by 6.67 percent up to December 10 as compared to last year, there was a decline in meeting the target. Railways' earnings till December 10 were Rs 1,11,834.32 crore as against the target of Rs 1,22,639.16 crore, a decline of 8.8 percent."In 2015, one of the challenges we have been facing is not getting enough cargo. So revenues are down. Because steel, cement, iron ore demand is very bad. Import and export are down. These are sources for cargo. So targets are falling short," Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu told PTI. He said this when asked about his regrets in 2015 on things he could not do or could have done better. He also said Seventh Pay Commission recommendations are equally a major challenge as Railways has to shell out additional Rs 32,000 crore annually. "Secondly, Pay Commission recommendation is another big challenge. The Rs 32,000 crore additional burden for Pay Commission on Railways is unbearable. These are major challenges," he said and added "these were two challenges of 2015 I hope we will be able to address it in 2016. On Pay Commission, we will have to talk to the Finance Ministry."Asked whether the recent slum demolition incident involving death of a child at Shakurbasti in Delhi is a setback as it would not be easy to evacuate encroachers from railway land, Prabhu said, "Public property is used for public good. So we have to find out ways. There has to be a public debate. We do not want to construct bungalows there."However, he emphasised on adopting human approach in dealing with removal of encroachers. "We have to find out best possible ways and at the same time I have instructed all my officers to do it in a humane way. I was not aware when demolitions took place, otherwise I would have told them not to do it at this particular time. But we will handle it in a humane way."Asked why he did not raise fares despite adverse financial condition, Prabhu quoted Abraham Lincoln saying, "We have tried to do everything in the interest of Railways. So what we have done is for the Railways, by the Railways and of the Railways."However, he said there were many good things that happened in Railways in 2015. "In 2015, we have done many things. First of all, getting huge resources for Railway which was always a problem. Getting finances for Railways is a great achievement," he said.