Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday, presented the maiden railway budget of the Modi government, for the year 2015-2016, in Lok Sabha. Asserting that the railway has suffered from a vicious cycle of underinvestiment for a long time he endorsed his plans of investment in railway, which he says will stop the deterioration and create more job opportunities.
There are also plans to increase the existing capacity for high density networks, in the next five years, along with making railways safer and improving and modernizing the infrastructure. For technology upgradation, the minister said, he will set-up Kayakalp and for assistance in metal research the Malviya Chair for Railway Technology at IIT (BHU) will be set-up.
“Transforming railways will require us to partner with key stakeholders. We will work with the states,” said Mr Prabhu, while adding that the Railway will continue to be the precious national asset and serve the common man.
The railway did not announce no new trains, but declare no rise in the ticket fares, enough to leave passengers relieved. However, the advanced reservation period has been taken up to 10 days.
Announcing the provisions and reformation in the facilities, he said, 17000 more toilets will be replaced with bio-toilets and the number of mechanized laundry’s will be increased. For passengers, a 24×7 helpline number will be made operational and SMS alerts will be sent to the passengers about the arrival and departure of their trains. Toll free number 182 has been created security related complaints.
Besides that, unreserved passengers wanting a ticket urgently can take benefits of ‘Operation 5 minutes.’ Passengers will also be provided with the Wi-Fi facility in 400 railway stations. Passengers can also book their meal online via a food chain.
For disabled passengers, senior citizens and ailing passengers, modern facilities will be upgraded by the IRCTC. For passenger amenities, the minister said that 67% funds have been allotted. Train sets saving 20% of the journey time, like the bullet trains will be introduced. Satellite railway terminals will be introduced at 10 selected stations of major cities.
The Railway Minister announced Rs 2000 crore for the Coastal Connectivity Program, which will be launched this year, and said that the proposed investment in Railways would be in tune of Rs 856021 crore, by 2019. The Minister declared elimination of 3,000 unmanned level crossings at a cost of more than Rs 6,000 crore in the next fiscal year. ISRO is to be involved in this elimination.
9 high-speed corridors are to be involved along with an equal number of trains. The average speed of freight trains both in empty and filled condition will be enhanced, so that Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Mumbai journeys can be done overnight.
Passenger safety will continue to remain a priority for the Railways. The Railway will also be shifting to paperless tickets, handing it’s TTE’s hand held ticket checking devices.
Analysts had a mixed opinion on the budget presented, with some applauding it and some highlighting its limitations. Markets however, fell and ended lower, on Thursday, explicitly indicating the disappointment regarding no hike in passenger fares.
(With inputs from The Times Of India and NDTV)
Tags: Budget 2015 Rail Budget Rail Budget 2015 railway budget Railway Budget 2015 suresh prabhu
