Rail Budget 2016: Railway plans to set up organisation to develop National Rail Plan-2030

While presenting the Railway Budget for 2016-17 in Lok Sabha on Thursday, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that the Indian Railway intends to set up a Railway Planning & Investment Organisation for developing a National Rail Plan to draft medium (5 years) and long (10 years) term corporate plans and identify projects which will fulfill the corporate goal. [caption id=“attachment_2642886” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. PIB[/caption] The organisation would consider Sashaktikaran – measures to improve planning practices, consider developing the existing infrastructure, and investing funds in an efficient and transparent manner, Prabhu said. It will independently conduct market intelligence and support preparation of feasibility studies or Detailed Project Reports based on standard methodology and assumptions. Further, the organisation would propose innovative financing mechanisms for the identified projects. In order to provide a long-term perspective on the plans of augmenting the railway network, Prabhu said they would develop the National Rail Plan (NRP-2030) in consultation with the state governments, public representatives and other relevant central ministries. NRP-2030 will endeavour to harmonise and integrate the rail network with other modes of transport and create synergy for achieving smooth multi-modal transportation network across the country, Prabhu added.