Railways Minister, Piyush Goyal has strongly refuted speculation that the Indian Railways may be privatised. Speaking on the issue at a MasterCard event, Goyal clarified that the government was indeed looking to increase investment from the private sector but through a public-private partnership.

He said, "There is no question on the privatisation of Indian Railways. There is absolutely no proposal on the table and while we are in the government there is no question of privatisation. That's a complete no-no and a red line."

He further added, "What we are looking at is ways and means to increase investment flow in railways through PPP. What we are looking at is sharing an engagement with the best of techs from all over the world."

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Goyal also laid stress on the need for more investments and claimed that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, private investment has more than doubled. He said that in future specific operations could be given to a private company for making the passengers' journey "more delightful".

"To serve the stakeholders and travelers of Indian Railways, more investments are needed. The Modi government has doubled the investments in Indian Railways," he said.

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The railway minister also told the gathering that the Indian Railways was undergoing a huge structural change.

He said, "Railways is going through a huge metamorphosis. What we expect (to see) is how we can engage with the private sector to provide better facilities. How the private sector can join hands with railways for advertising, CSR etc."

First Published:Oct 16, 2019 4:48 PM IST