Indian railway finances - Critical issues and emerging options

Railway finances are closely linked to the role that has been traditionally assigned to the railway system in the development of the Indian economy. B ut given a mandate of performance on commercial lines in a liberalised econ omic policy framework, Indian Railways is necessarily required to depend on internal resource generation for funding maintenance and expansion of rite network. Railway budgets which could have sewed as a basis to operationali se strategies to launch the railways on to such a process have attempted ve ry little, especially in the recent past. What are the problems and constra ints that the railways encounters in its efforts to fit into the new policy framework?