NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Indian Railways, which five years ago was on track to bankruptcy, announced a record financial surplus on Friday, fare cuts and massive spending on new lines in a populist budget.

Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, unveiling the budget for the financial year to March 2007, said the state-owned network — one of the world’s biggest — had an ‘unprecedented’ surplus of 110 billion rupees (2.47 billion dollars).

“There has been a turnaround in the financial situation of Indian Railways,” said the colourful minister, known more for championing the downtrodden and political theatrics than for his acumen as a financial manager.

“With this unprecedented achievement, we are striding ... (toward) making Indian Railways the premier railway of the world,” he told parliament, adding: “You might term this a miracle.”

The railway has some 1.6 million employees, making it the world’s biggest civilian employer.

The over 150-year-old railway transports around 16 million people daily and has been notorious for its antiquated equipment, financial losses, delays and red tape.

The surplus, driven by higher freight traffic thanks to a booming economy, came after experts warned five years ago the railway faced bankruptcy with a surplus of just 3.5 billion rupees and was mired in a ‘terminal debt trap’.—AFP