Indian Railways Invite Suggestions from the Public for Forthcoming Railway Budget

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Railways 

Indian Railways Invite Suggestions from the Public for Forthcoming Railway Budget 

Railway Ministry Receives Collective Inputs on Various Railway Subjects from Online Community 

The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has been emphasizing on the need to make Indian Railways citizen oriented, so that citizens can provide inputs on various aspects on railways to improve services in railways. It is also in line with the approach of Hon’ble Prime Minister on the matter of participative governance. 

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Highlights of Railway Budget 2014 - 2015

Rail Budget Seeks Course Correction, Avoids Populism

No Increase in Rail Fare

Stress on Resource Mobilization Through PSU Surplus, FDI and PPP

Bullet Train on Ahmedabad-Mumbai Corridor Proposed, Speed of Trains to be Increased in Nine Sectors

More Thrust on Passenger Amenities, Cleanliness & Efficient Station Management

Multi Pronged Approach for Improving Safety & Security, 4000 Women RPF Constables to be Recruited

Revamping Railway Reservation System into Next Generation e-Ticketing, WI-FI Services in Major Stations & in Select Trains, Mobile based Wakeup Calls for Passengers

58 New Trains Introduced; 11 Existing Trains Extended

Railway University and Innovation Incubation Centre to be Set UP

Top Priority to Transparency, e-procurement to be made

Compulsory in Higher Purchase, Online Registration for Wagons in Next Two Months

Highest Ever Plan Outlay of Rs. 65,445 Crore with Higher Allocation for Safety Measures

Increased passenger amenities, more safety measures, timely completion of projects and increased financial discipline are the main highlights of the Railway Budget 2014-15 presented by the Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda in Parliament today.

The Budget seeks course correction in the light of mismanagement, apathy, populism in starting projects and severe fund crunch that have inflicted the railways over the years, the Minister averred. For this, structural reforms will be introduced and resources will be mobilized through PSU surplus, FDI and PPP.

The Budget proposes multi-pronged approach to make Railway journey safe and secure and comfortable for passengers. More thrust has been placed on passenger amenities, cleanliness and efficient station management. Now all major stations will have foot-over bridges, escalators, lifts etc.

On safety and security, the Budget has proposed introduction of advance technology for rail-flaw detection to check causes of accidents, a significant amount has been kept for road-over and road-under bridges and a pilot project will be launched on automatic door closing in mainline and sub-urban coaches. In order to make women safer while travelling, the Railway will recruit 4000 women constables. Coaches for ladies will be escorted.

IT initiatives get a big boost in the Budget. Revamping Railway Reservation System into Next Generation e-Ticketing will be taken up with provision of platform tickets and unreserved tickets also over internet. The Railway has proposed real-time tracking of trains and rolling stocks, mobile based Wakeup Call System for passengers, mobile based destination arrival alert and Wi-fi Services in A-1 and A category stations and in select trains. Indian Railways has also planned paperless offices in 5 years.

In order to make Railway management more efficient, Budget has proposed setting up of Railway University for training in both technical and non-technical subjects besides establishing Innovations and Incubation Centre to harness the ideas generated from staff.

In a bid to modernise Indian Railway network, Bullet train has been proposed on Mumbai-Ahmadabad sector besides increasing speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in select 9 sectors. The Railway has also planned setting up of Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail connecting major metros and growth centers of the country. Identified stations will be developed to international standards with modern facilities on lines of newly developed airports through PPP mode. Railway has also proposed harnessing solar energy by utilizing roof top spaces of stations, railway buildings and land.

To augment resources of Railways, the Budget has proposed schemes to facilitate procurement of parcel vans and rakes by private parties, special milk tanker trains, increased movement of fruits and vegetables in partnership with Warehousing Corporation and setting up Private Freight Terminals on PPP model.

The Railway has proposed to bring in more transparency in administration and execution of projects. The status of ongoing projects will be available online, E-procurement will be made compulsory for procurement of higher amount and online registration of demands for wagons will be introduced within next two months.

The Budget has passenger centric focus on suburban and metropolitan rail services. 864 additional state-of-the-art EMUs will be introduced in Mumbai in two years. Study to explore possibility of enhancing existing railway network for better connectivity needs of Bangaluru will be taken up.

The Railway Budget 2014-15 has proposed 58 new trains besides extending 11 existing trains. Provision has been made for 28 surveys for new lines and doubling or gauge conversion of lines. Higher funds have been proposed for ongoing projects in Northeast and remote areas. Special packaged trains on identified pilgrim circuits, two tourist trains and a special train featuring life and work of Swami Vivekananda has been proposed in the Budget.

According to the Budget estimates, the Railways will earn ₹ 1,64,374 crore through various resources and will spend ₹ 1,49,176 crore during 2014-15. The operating ratio is expected to be 92.5% which is 1% better than that in 2013-14.

PIB

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Railway Budget 2014-15:4000 Women RPF Constables to be Recruited

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Railways 

Measures for Improvement in Safety and Security of Passengers 

4000 Women RPF Constables to be Recruited 

The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that safety of passengers is of paramount importance for Indian Railways. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today he said, it is estimated that over Rs. 40,000 crore would be needed to be invested in track renewals, elimination of unmanned level crossing and construction of Road-under-bridges and Road-over-bridges. 

The Minister said, he is making provision of Rs. 1,785 crore for Road-under-bridges and Road-over-bridges in the Budget and requested concerned State Governments to expedite their proposals and pass on their share of the cost. 

The Minister said, Indian Railways have 30348 Level Crossings, out of which 11563 are unmanned. Each unmanned level crossing is being examined in detail and depending on the site condition, action will be taken to eliminate it by suitable modality. 

He said, Indian Railways proposes to use modern Vehicle Borne Ultrasonic Flaw Detection System to detect rail and weld fractures. In addition Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System (UBRD) will also be tried at two locations as a Pilot Project. 

The Minister said, in order to improve the safety of travelling passengers, he proposes to bring in technology for automatic closing of doors before start of train, both in main line and in sub-urban coaches. A pilot project for limited number of trains will be taken up. 

He said, in order to strengthen security in trains and at Stations, 17000 RPF constables have been recruited and shall be shortly available for deployment. He said, the Indian Railways also proposes to recruit 4000 women RPF constables. He said, in order to ensure security of ladies travelling alone, special instructions are being issued for their safety in each class of travel. With the induction of women RPF constables, coaches for ladies will be escorted. Additional care will be taken for ladies travelling alone in all classes. 

The Minister said, RPF escorting teams in trains will be provided mobile phones so that passengers can contact them when in distress. Security helpline will be augmented. 

He also said that the Railways will explore the possibility of building of boundary walls around stations through PPP route. 

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Railway Budget 2014-15:Railway Reservation System to be Revamped

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Railways 

Railway Reservation System to be Revamped 

The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that Railway Reservation System will be revamped into Next Generation e-Ticketing System. Ticket booking through mobile phones and through Post Offices will be popularized. 

Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today he said, the Indian Railways will improve the system capabilities in e-ticketing to support 7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 tickets per minute and allow 1,20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time. 

The Minister said, facility of Coin Operated Automatic Ticket Vending Machines will be experimented. 

He said, efforts will also be made to provide facility of buying Platform Tickets and unreserved tickets over internet. Parking-cum-Platform Combo Tickets will be launched to facilitate the passengers and to save their time. 

He said that online booking facility of Railway Retiring Room will be extended to all the stations during the course of the year. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today he said, the Indian Railways is expanding the scope of online booking for people to book a Train, book a Coach, book a Berth and book a Seat in Chair Car. 

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Railway Budget 2014 - 15: Staff Welfare Fund Contribution to be Increased

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Railways 

Staff Welfare Fund Contribution to be Increased 

Railway University to be set up for Railway Employees 

The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has announced several measures for welfare and skill development of railway staff. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, the Minister said, these measures include: 

i) Increase in contribution towards Staff Benefit Fund from Rs. 500 per capita to Rs.800 per capita.

ii) A special scheme for the meritorious wards of Railway persons for their outstanding performance in academics and sports for such children. 

iii) The Hospital Management Information system will be used to integrate all health units, Divisional hospitals and Central Hospitals as well as our empanelled hospitals and 

iv) To examine feasibility of providing air-conditioning in loco cabins; 

He said, Railways is also contemplating on setting up of a Railway University for both technical and non-technical subjects. 

He said, Indian Railways will tie up with technical institutions for introducing railway oriented subject for graduation and skill development. In the meantime, staff at the ground level will be sent for short duration courses of technical and non-technical nature, involving locally available technical institutions. The exposure for specialized areas like high-speed, heavy haul operations, etc. will be undertaken for all level of staff and officers at appropriate institutes in India and abroad. 

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Highlights of Railway Budget 2013-14

 

·        67 new Express trains to be introduced

·        26 new passenger services, 8 DEMU services and 5 MEMU services to be introduced

·        Run of 57 trains to be extended

·        Frequency of 24 trains to be increased

·        First AC EMU rake to be introduced  on Mumbai suburban network in 2013-14

·        72 additional services to be introduced in Mumbai and 18 in Kolkata

·        Rake length increased from 9 cars to 12 cars for 80 services in Kolkata and 30 services in Chennai

·        500 km new lines, 750 km doubling, 450 km gauge conversion targeted in 2013-14
 
·        First ever rail link to connect Arunachal Pradesh

·        Some Railway related activities to come under MGNREGA

·        For the first time 347 ongoing projects identified as priority projects with the committed funding

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Railway to Introduce Next Generation E-Ticketing System.

   The Minister of Railways Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal has that his Ministry will put in place a Next Generation e-ticketing system to bring about a paradigm shift in internet rail ticketing. Presenting the Railway Budget for 2013-14 in Parliament today he said, the new system will significantly improve the end user experience in respect of ease of use, response time as well as capacity. He said, the new system shall be able to support 7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 tickets per minute at present. It will support 1, 20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time against the present capacity of 40,000 users with capability to easily scale up as demand increases in future. The Minister said, the system will make use of advanced fraud control and security management tools thereby further improving fairness and transparency in disbursal of tickets.

   The Minister also announced several IT initiatives for the benefit of passengers. These are:

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Highlights of Railway Budget 2011-12

                                                                     

• No hike in passenger fare and freight rates.
• Highest ever Plan outlay of Rs. 57, 630 crore proposed for Railways.
• Rs. 9,583 crore provided for new lines.
• 1300 km new lines, 867 km doubling of lines and 1017 km gauge conversion targeted in 2011-12.
• 56 new Express Trains, 3 new Shatabdis and 9 Duronto trains to be introduced.
• AC Double Decker services on Jaipur-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai routes.
• New Super AC Class to be introduced.
• A new portal for e-ticketing to be launched shortly. Booking charges will be cheaper with a charge of only Rs. 10 for AC classes and Rs.5 for others.
• Pan-India multi-purpose smart card “Go India” to be introduced.
• 236 more stations to be upgraded as Adarsh Stations.
• 47 additional suburban services in Mumbai and 50 new suburban services proposed for Kolkata.
• Two new passenger terminals in Kerala and one each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal proposed.
• Feasibility study to raise speed of passenger trains to 160-200 kmph to be undertaken.
• A special package of two new trains and two projects for the States managing trouble free run of trains through out the year.
• Anti Collision Devise (ACD) sanctioned to cover 8 zonal railways.
• GPS Based ‘Fog Safe’ Device to be deployed.
• All unmanned level crossing upto 3000 to be eliminated.
• All India Security Help line on a single number set up.
• All state capitals in the North-East except Sikkim to be connected by Rail in next seven years.
• A Bridge Factory in J & K and a state-of-art Institute for Tunnel and Bridge Engineering is proposed at Jammu.
• A Diesel Locomotive Centre will be set-up in Manipur.
• A Centre of Excellence in Software at Darjeeling proposed under the aegis of CRIS.
• Rail Industrial Parks at Jellingham and New Bongaigaon proposed.
• Additional mechanized laundry units to be set up at Nagpur, Chandhigarh and Bhopal.
• 700 MW gas-based power plant to be set up at Thakurli in Maharashtra.
• 18,000 Wagons to be procured during 2011-12.
• A scheme for socially desirable projects, ‘Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana’ with Non-lapsable fund proposed.
• 10,000 shelter units proposed for track side dwellers in Mumbai, Sealdah, Siliguri, Tiruchirapalli on pilot basis.
• Concession to physically handicapped persons to be extended on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.
• Concession of 50% to press correspondents with family increased to twice a year.
• Senior Citizens concession to be hiked from 30 % to 40 %.
• Medical facilities extended to dependent parents of the Railway employees.
• Scholarship for Girl child of Group-D railway employees increased to Rs.1200 per month.
• 20 additional hostels for children of railway employees to be set up.
• Recruitment for 1.75 lakh vacancies of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ including to fill up backlog of SC/ST initiated, 16,000 ex-servicemen to be inducted by March 2011.
• A separate sports cadre to be created.
• 2011-12 declared ‘Year of Green Energy’ for Railways.
• Freight loading of 993 MT and passenger growth of 6.4 % estimated for 2011-12.
• Gross Traffic Receipts at Rs.1,06,239 crore, exceeding one lakh crore mark for the first time estimated.
• Ordinary Working Expenses assessed at Rs. 73,650 crore.
• Source;PIB

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