Without tinkering with passenger fares, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his maiden budget for Indian Railways in the Lok Sabha, and promised a modern rail network for India. The highlights
New Delhi: Without tinkering with passenger fares, Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his maiden budget for Indian Railways in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, promising to balance passenger needs and long-term interests of the organisation and benchmark it globally on quality, safety and reach.
"There will be no hike in railway passenger fares. We will focus on improving passenger amenities including cleanliness," Railway Minister Prabhu said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Suresh Prabhu
Emphasising that safety, quality of service, standards and efficiency all suffered due to poor financial resources available with the Indian Railways in recent decades, the minister said all this further fed into the vicious cycle of poor investment.
He also set four goals to transform Indian Railways: Improved customer experience, safer travel, modern infrastructure and financial self-sustainability. "We will also create a separate department for taking care of cleanliness."
The highlights
No increase in passenger fares
No new trains announced
Tickets can now be booked 120 days ahead of travel date, instead of 60 days now, to tackle tout menace
17,000 toilets to be replaced by modern toilets
Railway cleaning to be outsourced
CCTVs to be introduced in select trains and suburban trains for women safety
Open wi-fi to be available at 400 railway stations; proposal to revamp the station re-development scheme
New initiative: Online booking of wheel chairs
New bullet trains to run on existing tracks
Projects worth Rs 96,182 crore to expand capacity of 9,420 km rail lines
Four dedicated freight corridors to be completed this year; 6608 kms of track to be electrified
Feasibility report of high speed train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad expected by mid-2015
Rail budget video
Railway helpline number 138 will become operational 24x7
SMS alert service to be introduced on train arrival/ departure
More general class coaches to be added in identified trains; more AC EMU services for Mumbai suburban section
Rail-cum-road ticket to be extended to many stations; more trains to be added under scheme for ordering food while booking tickets
Option to book rail meal online from food chain outlets
'Operation 5-minute' to be introduced to ensure ticketless passenger get regular ticket within five minute of entering station
Wagon-making scheme to be reviewed to make it easier for private investment
Speed on nine corridors to be increased from 110-130 to 160-200 kms per hour
67% more funds for passenger convenience
Preparing 5-year corporate safety plan to be ready in 3 months to identify annual quantifiable targets
Focus on rail connectivity in northeast and Jammu & Kashmir
Disposable linen on payment to be available at all stations
Toll free number 182 created for security related complaints
Investment of Rs.8.5 lakh crore in next five years
Rs 6,750 crore allocated for eliminating 3438 level crossings; 970 road-underbridge and road-overbridge to be constructed
Plan size raised by 52 per cent to Rs 111,000 crore
Over 20,00 suggestions received on improving facilities
Four goals: Deliver sustained improvement in customer facilities, Make railways safer means of travel, expand substantially, make Indian Railways self-sustainable
Budget part of trilogy: White paper already tabled, this budget, vision document soon
Railways backbone of national connectivity
Will partner with private sector to improve last mile connectivity
Railways unique integrator of modern India
The functioning of Railways must conform to highest standards of governance & transparency : Railway Min
Facilities not improved substantially over past few decades
Vicious cycle of under-investment must end
1,219 sections on network - most of them overworked
In next five years, intention to substantially augment capacity
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
