- Railway profit in 2007-08 at Rs 25,000 crore
- AC first class fare cut by 7% only for few coaches
- AC 2 tier fare down by 4% only for few coaches
- AC 3 tier fare cut by 3%only for few coaches
- 5% cut in petrol, diesel freight
- Special focus to be given on railway projects in the North Eastern Region Route of 16 trains to be extended
- 6 lakh bulbs to be replaced by cfl lamps by railways to save energy
- 2500 old signals to be replaced by railways. Special trains to anandpur sahib, patna sahib and nanded 155 new lines to be completed
- 50% concession for AIDS patient
- Foot overbridges at all high-level platforms
- Northern railway main hospital in Delhi will be fully airconditioned. Divisional railway hospitals in Jaipur and Hubli will be upgraded.
- New rail coach unit to be set up in Kerala
- 1,000 megawatt captive power plant to be set up in Nabinagar in Bihar
- Ten new Garib Raths and 53 new trains to be introduced
- Railway tickets to show expected time of arrival
- Thirty per cent discount to senior citizens for rail travel and 50 per cent discount for women in all classes
- Mother Child Health Express to be started
- Clearance given for western freight corridor from Delhi to JNPT, Nhava Sheva, adjoining Mumbai
- Close circuit TV and bomb detecting equipment to be installed at major stations
- Doubling of lines to be given priority
- Railways planning smart card-based ticketing system
- CCTvs at all important stations
- Modular toilets to be introduced in trains
- 'Go Mumbai' card to be sold at bus depots
- Freight loading estimated to increase from 650 mt to 1100 mt by 2011
- New policy for wagon leasing
- By 2010, all coaches will be made of steel
- Professional agencies being involved on a pilot basis to ensure cleanliness in running trains
- Work on automatic signalling to start in new sections
- Railways to bring in led displays in stations on train arrivals/ departures
- Stainless steel coaches for mail and express trains
- Cleanliness drive on rajdhani and shatabdi trains
- Railways show a surplus of rs 68,778 cr in last four years
- Railways to provide escalators at 50 per cent of the stations in the country
- Railway Minister Lalu Yadav announced that Indian Railways will introduce 15,000 ticketing counters in the next 2 years
- The Railways plans to offer tickets through mobile phones
- By 2009 call centre based inquiry services to be unveiled
- Issuance of wait-listed e-tickets will also allowed
- Operating ratio of the Railways was at 76%
- Rs 49,250 crore invested into new railway projects
- Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years
- Productivity of Railway assets has been constantly increasing
- Railways attained 790 tonne payload target in the year 2007-08
- E-ticket booking is likely to rise to 300,000 from 100,000 in a year
- Freight traffic target of 785 million tonnes crossed to touch 790 million tones
- Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years.
560 railway station platforms to be lengthened to take long trains - Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters
- More facilities for women and old passengers
1. Jaipur-Chandigarh (Tri-weekly) via Rewari-Bhiwani
2. Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Express (Tri-weekly)
3. Varanasi-Delhi (Tri-weekly)
4. Bangalore-Kochuveli(Tri-Weekly)
5. Ranchi-Delhi (Bi-weekly)
6. Jammu Tawi-Kathgodam (Weekly) (in lieu of Nizamuddin-Dehradun Garib Rath Express
announced in the Railway Budget 2007-08)
7. Yesvantpur-Puducherry (Tri-weekly)
8. Jabalpur-Mumbai (Bi-weekly)
9. Delhi-Jaynagar (Bi-Weekly) via Patna
10. Pune-Nagpur (Tri-weekly)
New Trains
1. Amravati-Mumbai Express (Bi-weekly)
2. Chennai-Tiruchendur Express (Weekly)
3. Hyderabad-Usmanabad Express (Tri-weekly)
4. Bhubaneshwar-Mumbai Express (Bi-weekly) via Sambalpur
5. Amritsar-Saharsa Jan Sadharan Express (Weekly) via Hasanpur
6. Ranchi-Chopan Express(Tri-weekly)
7. Asansol-Mumbai Express via Jasidih (Weekly) with restoration of Howrah-Mumbai Mail
via Gaya on all 7 days of the week
8. Kamakhya-Gandhidham Express (Weekly)
9. Kochuveli-Dehradun Express (weekly)
10. Jaynagar-Saharsa Janaki Express (Tri-weekly) via Hasanpur
11. New Dibrugarh Town-Kamakhya Express (Tri-weekly) via Moranhat
12. Machallipatnam-Bangalore Express (Tri-weekly)
13. Surat-Muzaffarpur Express (Weekly) via Azamgarh-Chhapra
14. Amritsar-Kochuveli Express (Weekly)
15. Delhi-Pathankot Express (Tri-weekly) via Amritsar
16. Malda Town-Patna Express (Tri-weekly) via Bhagalpur
17. Indore-Udaipur Express (Tri-weekly) via Ratlam
18. Varanasi-Rameshwaram Express (Weekly)
19. Delhi-Jogbani Link Express (Weekly)
20. Khajuraho-Delhi Link Express (Tri-weekly)
21. Kamakhya-Gaya Express (Weekly)
22. Ramnagar-Delhi Link Express (Daily)
23. Kolkata-Murshidabad Hazar Duari Express (Weekly)
24. Mathura-Chhapra Express (Tri-weekly)
25. Gwalior-Indore Express (Tri-weekly)
26. Udaipur-Delhi Chetak Express (Tri-weekly) via Ajmer-Neem-ka-Thana
27. Puri-Darbhanga Express (Weekly)
28. Yeswantpur-Jodhpur Express (Weekly)
29. Radhikapur-Delhi Express (Weekly)
30. Vasco-da-gama-Patna Express (Weekly) via Konkan railway
31. Paradeep-Bhubaneshwar Express (Daily) in lieu of one pair passenger service between
Paradeep and Cuttack.
32. Bilaspur-Pune Express (Weekly)
33. Kendurjharagarh-Puri Express (Daily)
34. Gaya-Chennai Express(Weekly)
35. Balharshah-Mumbai Link Express (Daily)
36. New Dibrugarh Town-Yesvantpur Express (Weekly) via Moranhat
37. Ranchi-Bhagalpur Express (Tri-weekly) via Kiul in lieu of 3405/3406 Ranchi-Bhagalpur
Varanchal Express (Bi-weekly via Kiul)
38. Lucknow-Delhi Air Conditioned Express (Tri-weekly)
39. Dehradun-Delhi Air Conditioned Express (Six days)
40. Ahmedabad-Mumbai Air Conditioned Express (Weekly)
41. Chennai-Rameshwaram Express (Daily) via Mayiladuthurai-Karaikudi (after Gauge
conversion)
42. Chennai-Tiruchchirappalli Express (Daily) via Mayiladuthurai (after Gauge conversion)
43. Chennai-Salem Express (Daily) via Vriddhachalam (after Gauge conversion)
44. Madurai-Tenkasi Passenger (Daily) (after Gauge conversion)
45. Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai Passenger (Daily) (after Gauge conversion)
46. Mysore-Nanjanagud Town Passenger (Daily) (after Gauge conversion)
47. Ahmedabad-Patan Passenger (Daily) (after Gauge conversion)
48. Dabhoi-Pratapnagar Passenger(Daily) (after Gauge conversion)
49. Hajipur-Phulwaria passenger (Daily) (upon commissioning of new line)
50. Itarsi-Katni Passenger (Daily)
51. Shoranur-Nilambur Road Passenger (Daily)
52. Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur Passenger (Daily)
53. Vasai Road-Panvel MEMU (Daily)
Extension of Trains
1. 8611/8612 Varanasi-Ranchi to Sambalpur via Rourkela (Bi weekly)
2. 2677/2678 Bangalore-Coimbatore Express to Ernakulam
3. 4207/4208 Delhi-Raebareli Padmavat Express to Pratapgarh
4. 7405/7406 Tirupati-Nizamabad Krishna Express to Adilabad
5. 3225/3226 Danapur-Darbhanga Express to Jaynagar
6. 2855/2856 Nagpur-Raipur Express to Bilaspur
7. 2691/2692 Chennai-Bangalore Express to Sri Sathyasai Prashanti Nilayam
8. 6733/6734 Madurai-Manmad Express to Rameswaram on one side and Okha on the other
9. 2141/2142 Rajendranagar (T)-Lokmanya Tilak (T) Express to Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus
10. 2409/2410 Nizamuddin-Bilaspur Gondwana Express to Raigarh
11. 4201/4202 Mathura-Lucknow Express to Patna
12. 2083/2084 Coimbatore-Kumbakonam Jan Shatabdi Express to Mayiladuthurai (after
Gauge conversion)
13. 1423/1424 Solapur-Bagalkot Express to Gadag (after Gauge conversion)
14. 571/572 Bangalore-Salem Passenger to Nagore (after Gauge conversion)
15. 724/725 Tuticorin-Tirunvelveli Passenger to Tiruchendur
16. 356/357 Dharwar-Gadag Passenger to Bijapur
Increase in frequency
1. 2425/2426 New Delhi-Jammu Tawi Rajdhani Express from weekly to daily
2. 2203/2204 Amritsar-Saharsa Garib Rath from bi-weekly to tri-weekly
3. 2449/2450 Nizamuddin-Madgaon Goa Sampark Kranti Express from weekly to bi-weekly
4. 6513/6514 Bagalkot-Yesvantpur Basava Express from tri-weekly to daily
5. 3403/3404 Bhagalpur-Ranchi Express via Andal from five days to daily
6. 2891/2892 Baripada-Bhubaneswar Express from tri-weekly to six days a week
7. 2151/2152 Lokmanya Tilak (T)- Howrah Samrasta Express from weekly to bi-weekly
8. 2421/2422 Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express from bi-weekly to tri-weekly
9. 2947/2948 Ahmedabad-Patna Azimabad Express from weekly to bi-weekly
10. 2431/2432 Nizamuddin-Thiruvanthapuram Rajdhani Express from bi-weekly to tri -
weekly
11. 5109/5110 Varanasi-Rajgir Buddh Purnima Express from tri-weekly to daily
MY COMMENTS
The budget seems to be a mix of future vision (horizon for 10 yrs) and next years action plan. At the broadest level, one wonders whether this vision would be continued by the next railway minister and has it come a little late in his tenure. Given that railways was on the verge of bankruptcy one could not have expected an action plan for next five year in his first budget itself. However, once the turn around (both financial and mindset) had happened, one could have expected a vision statement last year itself.
Getting into the specifics of the budget, it makes sense to cut the freight rates for two reasons: (i) commercial competition from road sector and (ii) help finance minister control inflation. Lowering the rate would increase the share of railways and would help them earn higher revenue. It is also important to understand the fine prints of freight rate reduction. The rationalization of classification of commodities should be seen together with the reduction. A closer look suggests that the rates are based on macroeconomic and commercial considerations. Reverse logistics and end to end solutions would not only make them more competitive but also would make them financially healthier. It is nice to see that a government department is thinking like a competitive corporate.
The reduction in passenger fares are contingent upon the popularity of trains and off peak season (fine print of budget speech). One can call it a political pitch and a mirage rather than any reduction. However, if we think in terms of real value of money, there is of course a reduction in fare (even if it were kept at the same value as last year for the whole next the year). So, this step needs to be applauded.
The emphasis on cleanliness and introduction of modular toilets are a welcome step. An idea of onboard private agency to clean the railway compartment would go a long way in making it hygienic. Some aspects of safety have also been addressed by proposing construction of RoB/RuB and manning the gates. It would also create employment.
Use of IT to provide information to passenger, once introduced would reduce a lot of haste. Proposal for a power plant is also a welcome step given the requirements of railways and current power demand-supply status.
Some the things which did not get enough attention was the poor behavior of railway employees and security persons with passengers. They could have been addressed with proposal of proper training of the employees to become a service provider organization from an infrastructure company. Security persons need to be trained as well as incentivised for better behavior through some mechanism. Any complain should be taken very seriously and should be processed without harassment to the passenger.
Given that there is only one year of the tenure left, implementation of the projects on priority basis would be the most critical point to look for. Various issues lead to lot of delay and the gestation period seems to be much higher than what it could be.
In short, there is a clear signal from the railways that it is no more a lackluster government agency for infrastructure creation but on the way to become a vibrant corporate organization focused on service provision. Hope the implementation is proper and we see a new era in the history of Indian Railways!!!
