JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday ruled out privatisation of the Railways and said that he wanted it to be a catalyst for the development and progress of the country.
“All talks of privatisation of railways are mere rumours,” Modi said. He was speaking at a function after inaugurating the expansion project of the public sector Diesel Locomotive Works in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.
“Railways is not merely a means of transport. It is the backbone of country’s development,” Modi said. He called for making the Railways a profit-making organisation that could contribute to the development and progress of the nation. “Railways has huge infrastructure. It can be used for development,” he said.
The railways could make use of smaller stations for “skill development”. “The Railways has a large number of smaller stations from where one or two trains pass daily. It has power. It can construct two rooms near them where skill development classes for the rural youths can be held. We can thus have a huge number of skilled people without spending any additional funds,” he said.