In a major relief to passengers, Union Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that there will be no hike in passenger fares and freight rates.
In a major relief to passengers around the country, Union Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that there will be no hike in passenger fares and freight rates.
Presenting the Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Banerjee said that the budget, with the highest ever plan outlay of Rs. 57,630 crores, will have Rs. 9,583 crores for new railway lines and significant funds for passenger amenities.
Banerjee also announced a number of new initiatives including expansion of the railway network, modernization of safety and security, and additional measures for the welfare of railway employees.
Proposing the highest ever plan outlay of Rs. 57,630 crores, the Railways Minister said that it will be financed through Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs. 20,000 crores, diesel cess of Rs. 1,041 crores, internal resources of Rs. 14,219 crores and market borrowings of Rs. 20,594 crores.
She said that the external source of financing through Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Wagon Investment Scheme (WIS) is expected to yield Rs. 1,776 crores.
Reiterating her commitment to the expansion of the rail network, the Union Minister proposed an allocation of Rs. 9,583 crores for new lines, Rs. 5,406 crores for doubling the lines, and Rs. 2,470 crores for gauge-conversion projects.
To overcome shortages in wagons, coaches and locomotives, Rs. 13,820 crores have been alloted for acquisition of rolling stock.
She proposed introduction of 56 new express trains, 3 new Shatabdis and 9 new Duronto trains during 2011-12, besides 47 additional suburban services in Mumbai and 50 new suburban services for Kolkata.
AC double-decker services will be introduced on the Jaipur-Delhi and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai lines. The services of 33 trains will be extended, while the frequency of 17 trains will be increased. 107 new line surveys will also be taken up during the year.
Banerjee also proposed to set up additional mechanized laundry units at Nagpur, Chandigarh and Bhopal for improving the quality of linen in trains, and a 700 MW gas-based power plant at Thakurli in Maharashtra for the energy requirements of the Railways. She said that 18,000 wagons will be procured during 2011-12 for better freight management.
As a unique initiative for the welfare of the poor, the Minister proposed construction of 10,000 shelter units for track-side dwellers in Mumbai, Sealdah, Siliguri and Tiruchirapalli on a pilot basis.
The Minister proposed the extension of concessions for physically handicapped persons in Rajadhani and Shatabdi trains.
Also, press correspondents will now be entitled to avail themselves of 50 per cent concession with their families twice in a year instead once in a year. At present a concession for senior citizens is extended at 60 years of age to both men and women - the Railway Minister proposed to reduce the age to 58 years in the case of women, besides increasing the senior citizens' concession from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Declaring that one of the main objectives of her ministry is to bring social revolution through rail connectivity, the Railway Minister proposed a non-lapsable fund for socially desirable projects under the name of ‘Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana’.
She also proposed an increase of Rs. 771 crore in projects to connect the underdeveloped areas of Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Maharashtra through the railway network. A non-lapsable fund for Railway projects in the northeast region has also been proposed, and all the state capitals of the region except Sikkim will be connected by the railway network in the next seven years.
Stating that safety is the first priority of the Railways, the Railway Minister said that Anti-Collision Devices (ACDs) will be deployed on more routes, and will now cover 8 zonal railways.
Expressing concern over the loss of railway properties during various agitations in the recent past, she announced that the states which will ensure trouble-free running of trains for the whole year will be awarded with two new trains and two projects as a special package.
Declaring 2011-12 as a ‘Year of Green Energy’ for the railways, the Minister proposed free supply of 14 lakh CFLs to railway households; increased use of solar energy at LC gates, stations etc.; and use of bio-diesel, CNG and LNG in locomotives.
Highlighting the efforts being made to improve the amenities and to provide better experience to the passengers at stations, the Minister said that 236 more stations will be upgraded as Adarsh Stations.
A multi-purpose pan-India smart card, “Go India”, will be introduced very soon to provide a single window package for seamlessly paying for tickets for long distance, suburban and metro travelling. Passengers can use this card at booking counters and vending machines, through the internet etc.
Besides this, a new portal for e-ticketing will be launched shortly. Booking of tickets through this portal will be cheaper, with a charge of only Rs. 10 for AC classes and Rs. 5 for others.
The Minister also proposed a new Super AC class of travel with improved comfort and features, and more exclusively. A feasibility study will be undertaken to increase the speed of passenger trains to 160-200 kmph with help from Japan, she said.
Announcing measures for the welfare of railway employees, the Minister proposed extension of medical facilities to dependent parents, increase in the scholarship for the girl children of gangmen and group ‘D’ employees to Rs. 1,200 per month for higher education, 20 new hostels for children of railway employees, and restructuring of all the cadres to provide adequate opportunities for promotion. She also proposed a separate sports cadre for railway employees.
Highlighting the efforts being made for the recruitment of staff in the railways, the Minister said that 1.75 lakh posts in Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ are being filled up, and that steps have been taken to fill up about 13,000 posts in the Railway Protection Force.
These mega recruitment drives will cover the backlog of the SC, ST and physically-handicapped quotas. She also announced that the railways is inducting 16,000 ex-servicemen by the end of March 2011.
Stating that the Indian Railways is passing through a difficult financial phase, she said that the 6th Pay Commission’s recommendations have heavily impacted the internal resource generation capability of the railways. Disruption of train movements during 2010-11 resulted in a loss of about Rs. 1,500 crores, and another Rs. 2000 crores was lost due to the ban on export of iron ore. As a result, the loading target had to be reduced by 20 million tonnes to 924 million tonnes.
However, in the revised estimates, goods earnings have been retained at the budget level based on trends of higher yield per Net Tonne Kilometer (NTKM). The total gross earnings have now been fixed at Rs. 94,742 crores, which is Rs. 177 crores higher than in the budget. With the reduced traffic suspense clearance of Rs. 98 crores, Gross Traffic Receipts are higher than the budget target by Rs. 75 crores, at Rs. 94,840 crores.
On the basis of freight traffic projection of 993 million tonnes and passenger growth of 6.4 per cent, the Minister said that the Gross Traffic Receipts are estimated at Rs. 1,06,239 crores during 2010-11, which will cross the one lakh crore mark for the first time, while Working Expenses are estimated at Rs 96,450 crore.
Courtesy: INN