Railways : Rhetoric and Reality

Rhetoric and Reality THERE is much to commend the intent of the Railway Budget presented by the minister Nitish Kumar. But not all the rhetoric at his command can hide the fact that the prestigious, crucial service and industry that is the railways, is in dire trouble. Not because of any inherent deficiency, nor for that matter because the railways are an aberration in the context of structural change and modernisation; but almost entirely due to the fact that the development of this vital sub-sector has been prompted more by populist pressures than pragmatism and planning. If today Nitish Kumar has presented a