Suresh Prabhu the Railway Minister has asked foreign funds and domestic investors to replicate with the railways, their success in the telecom, power and road sectors as the department needs a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore in funds this year and Rs 8.5 lakh crore over the next five years.

"You have successfully invested in the telecom and power and roads sector, but never in the railways. The government also didn't invest during the past two decades and so we've chalked out a five-year plan under which we are looking at an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore this financial year and Rs 8.5 lakh crore over the next five years," Mr Prabhu told.

Mr Prabhu rolled out the red carpet for foreign funds and domestic investors, including multinational i-bankers, FIIs, domestic insurers like LIC and other financial institutions for the development of Indian railways.

"We are looking at private sector investments, too, though we know it will take time," the minister said. "This means we need to invest $200 billion annually in the railways over the next five years, after which we need an annual investment of 1.5 times more than this (or $350 billion) for the next five years," Mr Prabhu said.

Mr Prabhu said in a meeting that while as much as 65 percent of the rolling stock was passenger trains, they generate only 30 percent of revenue, leaving 70 percent of revenue to be mobilised by freight trains, which constitute only 35 percent of the rolling stock.

He said that the national transporter is on its way to constructing 400 model railway stations in this fiscal year. He also said that as many as 79 of the announcements made in the rail budget for the year have already been implemented.

He said, "We have already signed MoUs with Maharashtra and Odisha and are on our way to doing the same with a total of 17 states." "On the part of the Railways, we will be investing Rs 70-80,000 crore in Maharashtra over next five years," he added.

By Premji