Indian Railways

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[url="http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/25/budget-2010-railway-mamata-takes-finances-off-track.htm"]Mamata takes Railway finances off the track[/url]

Hindi couplets, shrill notes, political correctness (a coach factory at Rae Bareli, drinking water plant at Amethi) and a bagful of projects for West Bengal [ Images ] (over half a dozen factories and workshops, two museums, one cultural centre and much more) -- nothing that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee [ Images ] said on Wednesday while presenting the Railway Budget 2010-11 in the Lok Sabha could hide the rot in finances.



Little wonder, she made an impassioned plea to the private sector for investments. "The time has come for the business community to come and join hands to build partnerships with the Railways," she said.



But that didn't keep Banerjee from being populist. She ignored the Planning Commission's advice to raise passenger fares and link freight rates to fuel prices and left both the rates unchanged. In fact, she proposed a cut in service charge for e-tickets.

By now Rae Bareli and Amethi should be most prosperous land on earth. They get loot from every budget.