Rail Budget 2016: Suresh Prabhu plans to double investment in railways to Rs 1.2 lakh crore for FY17

In the ongoing Rail Budget 2016 speech, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that he plans to double the investment in Railways to Rs 1.2 lakh crore for FY17.

"We are looking at ways to boost cost-optimisation this fiscal," Prabhu said. "We have overhauled age-old practices in procurement of equipment," he added.

He also said that he expects Railways to have a revenue growth of 10.1% in FY17, while aiming for an operation ratio of 92% for this financial year.

"A saving of Rs 8,720 crore for budget estimates of last year will be effected this year," Prabhu said.

In his speech, Prabhu also stressed on the need for constant innovation, saying, "We need to reimagine the conventional ways of solving things. We plan to do this by drawing upon our inherent strengths."

"This budget will document the transformation of railways. This is not my Budget alone, it represents the aspirations of every member of the railway family and common man," he said.

In his second Railway Budget speech by Prabhu, he said that his aim is to fulfill PM Narendra Modi's vision of Railways being a backbone and lifeline for India.

"This Budget owes its vision to that of PM Modi. We want to improve quality of customer experience, create jobs," Prabhu said.