Railway Minister Piyush Goyal stressed on the need for support of the private sector to accelerate development of the railways. He dismissed speculations of privatisation of the railway network, but highlighted the need for a public-private partnership funding model for the sector. “We want to end the era of slow moving trains by making way for the fast speed-driven MEMU and electric trains, like the trains being run in suburban Mumbai (with the help of private sector),” he said while advocating for reforms in the railways. He said the railways wants to attract an investment of Rs 50 lakh crore in next 12 years to expand the facilities in passenger and goods trains through modernisation.
