Finance Minister has been very benign to Railways: Piyush Goyal on Union Budget 2019

Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal on Friday lauded Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on her maiden budget. The minister said that India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister “has been very benign to the Railways”.

Pointing that Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget 2019 “laid out a vision of investment of nearly Rs 50 lakh crore over the next 10 years”, Goyal thanked her for “strengthening the resolve of the Railways”.

“Finance Minister has been very benign to the Railways. She has laid out a vision of investment of nearly 50 lakh crore over the next 10 years. I would really like to thank Finance Minister for strengthening the resolve of the Railways,” said Goyal.

The Minister for Railways also took to microblogging site Twitter to hail the Union Budget 2019. According to him, the budget delivered by Nirmala Sitharaman was a “budget for New India”.

“Railways infrastructure will need an investment of ₹50 Lakh Cr between 2018-2030, given that capital expenditure outlay of Railways is around ₹1.5-1.6 Lakh Cr per annum. A public-private partnership is proposed to unleash faster development of Railways,” the minister posted on Twitter.

He further tweeted, “Congratulations FM @NSitharaman ji for delivering a #BudgetForNewIndia. It perfectly encapsulates PM @NarendraModi ji's vision of New India and will lead to investment, growth & economic development leading to welfare of farmers, poor & middle class of the country.”

In her budget speech, the Finance Minister said that the private sector would play a greater role in boosting the railway infrastructure across the country.

She said, "Railway infrastructure would need an investment of Rs 50 lakh crores between 2018 and 2030."

"As much as 657 km of metro rail network has become operational in the country... PPP to be used to unleash faster development and delivery of passenger freight services," she added.

This comes a day after the Economic Survey said that government was planning to decongest roads and railways by enabling river route for transportation of cargo.