With the NDA government set to present its first railway budget on Tuesday, we look back at the highlights of the Interim Railway Budget 2014-15 presented in the Lok Sabha by then Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge in February
With the NDA government set to present its first railway budget on Tuesday, we look back at the highlights of the Interim Railway Budget 2014-15 presented in the Lok Sabha by then Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge in February:
- No change in passenger fares and freight charges
- 72 new trains to be introduced: These include 17 premium trains, 38 express trains, 10 passenger trains, 4 MEMU and 3 DEMU
- Three trains will be extended and frequency of three other trains will be increased
- Proposed outlay of Rs.64,305 crore with a budgetary support of Rs.30,223 crore
- Gross traffic receipts targeted at Rs.1,60,775 crore with passenger earnings of Rs.45,255 crore, goods Rs.1,05,770 crore and other coaching and sundry earnings Rs.9,700 crore
- 19 new lines to be taken up for survey in fiscal 2014-15
- Surveys for doubling five existing lines will also be taken up during the year
- Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh to be brought on railway map
- Independent Rail Tariff Authority set up to advice on fares and freight
- Gross traffic receipts pegged at Rs.1,60,775 crore
- Working expenses pegged at Rs.1,10,649 crore, which is Rs.13,589 crore higher than the revised estimates for the current fiscal
- Freight earnings target set at Rs.94,000 crore. Loading target raised to 1,052 million tonnes
- Services on Udhampur-Katra section to start soon. It will take passengers to the foothills of Vaishno Devi shrine
- Allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in railways is under consideration
- Emphasis on attracting higher investments from private sector
- Three new factories - Rail Wheel Plant in district Chhapra, Bihar; Rail Coach Factory at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh; and Diesel Component Factory at Dankuni, West Bengal, have become functional and commenced production during 2013-14
- Operating ratio budgeted at 89.8 percent
- Fund balances pegged at Rs.12,728 crore
- Pension outgo budgeted at Rs.27,000 crore in 2014-15 against Rs.24,000 crore in the current fiscal
- Ordinary working expenses placed at Rs.1,10,649 crore, higher by Rs.13,598 crore from the current financial year
- An independent Rail Tariff Authority to be set up to advise the government on fixing fares and freight charges
- State governments of Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana have agreed to share cost of several rail projects in their respective areas
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