Whalesbook
Railways ka Mission Speed: Poora Budget Fired Up!
Yaar, Indian Railways FY26 ke liye full speed mein hai. March tak lagbhag saara capital budget end kar diya hai. Aur inka plan kya hai? Ambitious high-speed rail corridors banana jo intercity travel time ko itna kam kar denge ki log plane chhod kar train sochne lagen.
Last year hi Railways ne 49,000 km track ko electrify kiya hai (yeh toh Germany ke poore rail network se zyada hai!) aur 36,000 km naye tracks bhi daal diye hain. Ab tak 58,074 km track electrified ho chuke hain, jo total 132,310 km network ka ek bada hissa hai. Isse operational efficiency badhi hai.
High-speed vision ke hisaab se, Mumbai aur Pune ke beech sirf 28 minutes mein pahunch jayenge. Pune-Hyderabad 2 ghante se kam mein, aur Hyderabad-Bengaluru bhi 2 ghante mein. Delhi se Varanasi ka safar 3 ghante 50 minute mein hoga. Haalat ye hai ki Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor jo thoda delay ho gaya tha, ab 2028-29 tak target kiya ja raha hai.
Airlines Ka Hall: Losses Aur Rising Costs Ki Fikar
Wahi dusri taraf, aviation sector ki haalat bilkul theek nahi hai. ICRA ka kehna hai ki Indian airlines FY27 mein apne net losses ko ghatakar ₹110-120 billion kar paayenge, jo FY26 mein ₹170-180 billion rehne ki ummeed hai. Fuel ke badhte rates, currency fluctuations, aur global issues ki wajah se operating expenses badh rahe hain aur domestic traffic growth bhi slow ho kar FY26 ke liye sirf 0-3% reh gayi hai.
Sabse badi airline IndiGo ka Q3 FY26 net profit 77.5% gir kar ₹5.5 billion ho gaya, jismein ₹15.47 billion ke exceptional losses bhi the. Air India Group ne FY25 mein ₹10,859 crore ka consolidated loss report kiya, aur SpiceJet ka Q3 FY26 net loss ₹261.38 crore raha. Ab IndiGo aur Air India Group milkar domestic market ka 91% control karte hain.
Paisa Kahan Se Aayega? Railways Pe Debt Ka Bojh
Railways ke in sab bade projects ka financial burden bhi bahut zyada hai. August 2022 tak, Railways par ₹7 lakh crore se zyada ka borrowing tha. FY27 ka railway budget record ₹2.92 trillion hai, lekin high-speed projects ka kharcha bahut zyada hai. Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor ka budget toh 83% badh kar lagbhag ₹1.98 lakh crore ho gaya hai, matlab per km ₹400 crore ka average kharcha!
In projects ki economic feasibility ridership aur revenue forecasts par depend karti hai. High-speed rail projects duniya bhar mein cost overruns aur financial challenges face karte hain. Electrification se environment ko fayda hoga, par high-speed rail ko profitable banane ka raasta lamba hai.
Railways par debt lagatar badh raha hai aur in mega-projects mein cost overruns financial prudence par sawaal uthate hain. Subsidized fares aur uneconomic lines bhi pressure badhate hain. High-speed corridors ka financial viability unki vast capital cost ke saamne closely examine karni hogi. Trains sach mein air travel ko 'dominate' kar paayengi ya nahi, yeh toh future hi batayega, kyuki dono sector apni-apni mushkilon se lad rahe hain.