India will increase investment in its overloaded railway network to 8.5 trillion rupees ($137 billion) over the next five years, the government said on Thursday, promising to modernise existing tracks, Reuters reported. Presenting the railway budget just two days before the government delivers its first full annual federal budget, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said it would "set the direction of a long and difficult road of reform." Over the next year, investment in the railways will increase by about a half to 1 trillion rupees ($16.15 billion) including funds raised by market borrowing. To meet the five year target, investment will have to speed up more after that. Prabhu, a trusted economic aide to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he would raise funds from multi-lateral lenders, infrastructure and pension funds, as well as "monetizing" railway assets. He said the railway would not be privatized. "Over the next five years, the railways have to undergo a transformation," Prabhu said in a speech that was short on details.
