The Union Minister of Railways, Shri Laloo Prasad made
the following speech in the Lok Sabha while presenting
the Railway Budget for 2004-2005 here today :
"Mr.
Speaker Sir,
I rise to present the Budget Estimates for 2004-05 for
the Indian Railways. The previous Government had presented
an interim budget on 30th January, 2004 when approval
for 'Vote-on-Account' for the first four months of this
financial year for railways' expenditure was obtained.
Sir, this is the first Railway Budget of the United
Progressive Alliance Government, which assumed office
on 22nd May, 2004. Within the short time
available to me, I have made an attempt to identify
the challenges and difficulties faced by the Railways
and outline measures to overcome the same apart from
taking note of thrust areas of the Common Minimum Programme.
In this regard I look forward to the valuable inputs
of the Hon'ble members of this august House. In fact,
to start with, I have already written to all the members
of this and the Upper House indicating the on going
projects and important works in their respective areas
and inviting their suggestions for further improvement
in the facilities. Special attention will be given to
these suggestions and appropriate decision will be taken
on the proposals relating to projects after carrying
out surveys wherever necessary, giving primacy to the
more neglected areas.
Indian Railways, the prime movers of the nation, have
the distinction of being one of the largest railway
systems in the world under a single management. Its
contribution to the nation's progress is immeasurable
and it has a dual role to play as a commercial organization
as well as a vehicle for fulfillment of aspirations
of the society at large. It is an important catalyst
to growth of trade, industry and the economy as a whole,
with immense potential for providing indirect employment.
Considering this, the United Progressive Alliance Government
attaches the highest priority to the development and
expansion of railway infrastructure as mentioned in
the Common Minimum Programme. The travails suffered
by the Railways in the last few years, particularly
on the safety front, need to be overcome. President's
address to the joint session of Parliament emphasizes
the Government's intention to modernize the railway
network keeping both the economic and social dimension
in mind.
Railways have initiated many policy changes to meet
the requirements of its customers, be it freight or
passenger services. While continuing the process of
reforms, the modernization of the Railways, replacement
and renewal of assets, particularly, the track renewal
and safety of passengers will be the thrust areas for
the Railways. Other priority areas will be cleanliness
of coaches and railway premises, particularly the stations
and improvement in passenger amenities. Yet another
thrust area will be control over expenditure and stepping
up of measures to prevent leakage of revenue.
There has been a shortage of resources for investment
on Railways, which needs to be enhanced substantially
to take care of the priority areas, viz., safety, development
and expansion of the system. Railways will continue
to strive to effect improvements wherever needed. I
have had deliberations with the Hon'ble Prime Minister
and Hon'ble Finance Minister who have been kind enough
to assure that requisite funds will be made available
in the course of this year for Railway safety.
Indian Railways is committed to improve its internal
resources. For this, we will strictly implement a two-pronged
strategy with full sincerity. On the one hand, aggressive
marketing efforts will be launched to enhance the earnings
and leakage of revenue will be arrested at all identified
points, e.g., ticket less travel and other malpractices,
etc. On the other hand, operating expenses will in no
way be allowed to exceed the barest minimum requirement.
Optimum utilization of human resources and cost-effective
use of other assets will be ensured. Utmost economy
will be maintained in general expenditure.
Review
of Performance in 2003-04
I am glad to report that in the financial year 2003-04
that has just ended, the Railways have moved 557.39
million tonnes of originating revenue earning traffic,
against the target of 550 million tonnes and 38.65 million
tonnes higher than the previous year's loading. This
is the second successive year when Indian Railways have
registered around 20 million tonnes or more of incremental
revenue loading. Passenger traffic registered a growth
of about 3% during the year. There has been an increase
of Rs. 240 crore over the earnings projected in the
Revised Estimates and a savings of Rs. 491 crore in
the Ordinary Working Expenses. The Operating Ratio of
the Railways as per approximate actuals is likely to
improve to 92.1 percent as against 94.1 percent budgeted
for the year. The final accounts for the year are under
compilation and indications through approximate figures
are that there may be only a marginal variation. Plan
expenditure is expected to be around Rs. 13,311 crore.
Despite the improved performance of the Railways I would
not like to remain contented. Rather I would be striving
to improve upon this performance further. With a commercial
orientation, aggressive marketing and economy measures,
the Railways would be continuously working towards further
improving their financial performance.
Safety
Sir, the biggest challenge that Indian Railways face
today is ensuring safe transit of passengers. I would
like to assure the Hon'ble Members that safety in rail
operations would be accorded the highest priority.
As a result of various safety measures and sustained
efforts, the number of consequential train accidents
has come down from 473 in 2000-01 to 414 in 2001-02,
351 in 2002-03 and further 325 in 2003-04. This has
been the lowest number of accidents ever, reflecting
a considerable reduction in the year 2003-04 over 2000-01.
The number of consequential train accidents per million
train kilometres has also come down to 0.39 against
the figure of 0.44 during the preceding year. The effort
will be to bring this down even further.
Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF) of Rs. 17,000 crore
was created w.e.f. 1.10.2001 to wipe out arrears in
renewal of overaged assets viz., track, bridges, rolling
stock & signalling gears besides safety enhancement
works over a six-year period. Considerable progress
has been made in the execution of works sanctioned under
this fund. 8938 kilometres of track have been renewed
up to 31.3.2004 out of the total target of 16,538 kilometres
to be covered up to 31.3.2007. The work of replacement
of over-aged signalling systems with modern systems
has been completed at 441 stations. The work is in progress
at 1053 other stations. Interlocking at level crossings
with signals has been completed at 387 gates during
2003-04, bringing the total of inter-locked level crossings
to 7095 out of 16549 manned level crossings. With a
view to reducing accidents at level crossings, provision
of Train Actuated Warning Device (TAWD) has been undertaken
at selected 90 level crossings. The device will warn
road users and gatemen of the approaching train by emitting
a siren and through flashing lights. Under SRSF, track
circuiting works are in progress at about 5300 locations.
Work has so far been completed at about 1700 locations.
Railways have given very high priority to the work of
rehabilitation and strengthening of old bridges. Of
the 2700 bridges to be rehabilitated or rebuilt through
Special Railway Safety Fund, 1306 bridges have been
completed upto 31-3-2004. In the current year, 411 bridges
are to be rehabilitated.
Indian Railways have finalized a rational criteria for
manning of unmanned level crossings based on the volume
and nature of road and rail traffic at the level crossing
and visibility conditions. It is planned to man over
1280 unmanned level crossings over a period of time,
with the more vulnerable level crossings being given
priority.
New Measures for Safety
Block
Proving by Axle Counters, Train Protection and Warning
System and Anti-Collision Device.
Fresh
initiative has been taken to introduce a system of 'electronic
verification' of complete arrival of train at stations
by means of 'Block Proving' by Axle Counters along with
a major thrust for development of indigenous Digital
Axle Counters for the first time in the country. The
latter has been developed under a joint research project
of the Ministry of Railways and Department of Science
and Technology. Railways have taken the initiative for
provision of Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS)
for providing an aid to driver to prevent him from passing
signals at danger as a safety measure. The system provides
a warning to the driver of approaching a signal at danger
and if the driver fails to react the system will apply
brakes automatically. This proven and failsafe system
is being provided on Southern & North Central Railways
on approximately 280 Track Kilometres. Provision of
Anti-Collision Devices (ACDs) on about 1700 Route Kms.
of Northeast Frontier Railway has been taken in hand
and is likely to be completed during 2004-05.
Safety
on long welded rails
Indian Railways have a substantial length of long and
continuous welded rails. With a view to ascertain actual
forces in them, it is proposed to develop field methods
to measure actual forces occurring in rails so that
necessary remedial action may be taken before unsafe
conditions develop.
Transportation
of Explosives and inflammable materials in the trains
Incidents of fire in the coaches and luggage vans of
passenger carrying trains during the recent past have
caused serious concern. Prohibition on carriage of any
type of explosives and inflammable materials including
LPG cylinders, kerosene stoves, etc., other than those
required for security purposes or by the armed forces,
by any passenger carrying train will be strictly enforced.
Institute
of Rescue and Medical Relief
Disaster Management has been recognized as a priority
area on the Indian Railways. To strengthen the system,
a number of initiatives are being taken. These include
setting up of an "Institute of Rescue and Medical
Relief" at Bangalore. It is proposed to set up
a project at a cost of Rs. 10 crores to give a fillip
to the training activities. This institute shall act
as a repository for all modern extrication and medical
relief techniques to ensure quicker rescue and provide
prompt medical relief, comparable to international standards.
Security
Consequent upon the recent amendments to the Railways
Act, 1989 & RPF Act, 1957, Railway Protection Force
(RPF) has been entrusted with additional responsibilities
for escorting passenger trains in vulnerable areas and
to have control on access and regulation and general
security at platforms to supplement the efforts of state
police/GRP for enhanced security of the passengers.
Both the amended Acts have come into force with effect
from 1st July, 2004. To start with, manpower
has been withdrawn from certain less important activities
so that passenger security takes precedence over protection
of property. Accordingly, escorting of trains will be
shared with GRP in the initial stages. Zonal General
Managers have been directed to chalk out the plans in
this regard.
To address the problem of shortage of personnel in the
Force to carry out the new duties, and to speed up the
process of filling up of vacancies, it has been decided
to restore the earlier procedure of direct recruitment
by the Security department itself instead of through
Railway Recruitment Boards. This will expedite the availability
of manpower and strengthen the Force.
Skills of the existing personnel of R.P.F. have been
upgraded by giving them intensive re-orientation training
at zonal training schools and RPF Academy. This training
capsule is comprehensive and consists of legal provisions
regarding arrest, seizure, personal attendance, summons,
warrants, handling of prisoners, human rights violations,
custodial care, gender justice, juvenile offenders,
etc.
Concern has been expressed about the cases of drugging
of unwary passengers on the trains and robbing them
of their belongings. Railways have taken certain measures
to combat this menace by educating the public. In this
connection I have instructed the RPF that they should
try to identify the criminal gangs engaged in the crime
of drugging and hand them over to the GRP.
Modernisation
Research
Projects in Bridge Engineering
Indian Railways are interacting with various Indian
Institutes of Technology and premier research institutes
in India and abroad and Advanced Railway Systems in
the field of Bridge Engineering. It is proposed to take
up research and development projects in areas of protection
from earthquake and rehabilitation of bridges, residual
life analysis for concrete and masonry bridges, high
performance concrete and corrosion protection systems
for bridges.
Rehabilitation
of Arch Bridges
There are a large number of arch bridges on Indian Railways.
A number of bridge improvement and rehabilitation measures
have already been undertaken in the recent past. In
addition, it is proposed to extend the useful life of
a large number of arch bridges by about 25 years by
adopting techniques in collaboration with International
Union of Railways (UIC).
Corrosion
Resistant Wagons
Corrosion in conventional wagons affects their availability
and productivity and reduces their life. In order to
overcome this problem, field trials of stainless wagons
are in progress. In addition, it has been proposed to
introduce aluminium body wagons and conduct field trials.
This would result in reduced tare weight and higher
payload per wagon as compared to the conventional wagons.
Crew
Friendly Driver's Cab and Brake Van
Fatigue enhances vulnerability of Drivers and Guards
to cause accidents. Improvement in the working conditions
of such staff with a view to reduce their fatigue level
on run is, therefore, a priority area for Indian Railways.
A number of improvements have been standardized and
are being incorporated in a phased manner in driver's
cab and guard's brake van to make the working environment
of crew better and improving efficiency. The new diesel
locos and guards' brake vans will be provided with these
features.
Modernisation
of EMUs & Electric Locos
Three phase electric traction system based on most advanced
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Technology
is proposed to be introduced for EMU trains in Mumbai
suburban section. This system provides higher reliability
and improved energy efficiency. Progressively this technology
is also proposed to be developed for high horse power
three phase electric locomotives.
Strategic
Management Institute
There is a need to prepare Railway Managers to meet
the future challenges in rail operations. This necessitates
pooling of training resources available world over.
It is, therefore, proposed to set up an International
Railway Strategic Management Institute under the aegis
of International Union of Railways (UIC).
Computer
based Centralised Traffic Control
Under a project funded by German Development Bank (KfW)
modern computer based Centralised Traffic Control (CTC)
System is planned to be introduced for the first time
on Ghaziabad-Kanpur high speed, high density route to
improve safety and operation.
Material
Management Information System (MMIS)
A pilot project on Material Management Information System
(MMIS) incorporating the on line exchange of information
on material management has been successfully developed
and implemented by Central Railway. Now this system
is proposed to be extended to all other Zonal Railways
for effective material management, which will improve
material availability and turn over ratio.
Introduction of Information Technology for Permanent
Way Materials Management System has been done on 21
divisions so far. Setting up of infrastructure on balance
46 divisions is in advanced stages and is targeted for
completion during the year. The system provides for
proper and concurrent accountal of materials and facilitates
accurate verification of physical stock including released
material. Thus, the system improves efficiency and arrests
leakage of revenue through theft, pilferage etc.
E-procurement
Railways are working towards adoption of E-procurement.
A pilot project on Northern Railway envisages putting
all purchase activities on the internet, wherein issue
of tenders, receipt of bids, issue of contracts etc.
would be done online. The introduction of this system
will bring transparency and improve efficiency by way
of reduced procurement time cycle and expeditious payment
to suppliers. After successful completion of the pilot
project on Northern Railway, E-procurement will be extended
to other zonal Railways.
Improvements to Claims Management
Railways have embarked on a programme of computerization
of 'Claim Offices' so as to provide on line information
to claimants about the status of claims. This will help
the customers to find unconnected consignments and will
also be a powerful tool in reducing the duplication
of claims. Computerized registration of claims in Zonal
Railway Headquarters has already been started from April
2004 and it is expected that full computerization of
claim offices will be completed during the current financial
year.
In order to help the rail users, the rules & procedures
in connection with compensation claims in respect of
both "accident" and "loss/damage of goods"
have been incorporated in the Indian Railways website.
Simplification
of refund procedure
Under the normal rules, refund of unused tickets is
admissible upto a maximum of 12 hours after departure
of the train. In order to facilitate refund thereafter
directly from the PRS terminals, a Computerised Coaching
Refund System has been started. Under the revised rules,
refund shall be admissible on unused reserved and RAC
tickets upto five days from the scheduled departure
of the train from its originating station. Some zonal
railways have started granting refund under this scheme.
The project will be fully implemented during the current
year.
Unreserved
Ticketing System
About 92 percent of the railway passengers travel without
reservation in unreserved coaches in trains in the country.
To help these railway passengers, Indian Railways have
developed Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS). This system
facilitates a passenger to buy a traveling ticket for
any station from any of the selected railway stations
three days in advance of the required date of journey.
This system is proposed to be extended progressively
on all zonal railways. I am very happy to share with
this august House the news that the UTS has also won
a prestigious award from a reputed international forum
for using information technology to take great strides
towards remarkable social achievement in transportation.
Passenger
Reservation System
Expansion of the Passenger Reservation System (PRS)
available at nearly 1100 locations in the country, will
also be continued to help the passengers traveling by
reserved compartments. Another 74 locations will be
added this year.
Parcel
Services
In order to improve the management of the Parcel traffic,
which generates earnings of about Rs. 500 crore annually,
it is necessary to computerize the working of the entire
parcel system. To start with, a pilot project is being
proposed this year at an estimated cost of Rs. 2.00
crores, linking Howrah and Delhi area in the major parcel
traffic corridor of New Delhi Howrah Guwahati.
This will result in better planning, expeditious clearance,
easy tracing of parcels and thereby result in reduced
over carriage and claims. Computerised parcel way bills
and accurate calculation of charges will also be possible
from the system.
Freight
Operations Information System
Enthused by the success of the phase-I (Rake Management
System) of the Freight Operations Information System
(FOIS) which has helped in better operation and wagon
availability, it is proposed to cover commercial aspects
of freight business this year by computerizing the working
of about 300 goods sheds and sidings. In this, the Railways'
receipts will be computerised which will benefit merchants
and industry in a big way as individual wagon tracking
and electronic payments etc. will become possible.
Coaching
Operations Information System
To improve the passenger traffic operations, the Coaching
Stock Management module (covering passenger coaches
and parcel vans) of Coaching Operation Information System
(COIS) is proposed to be implemented this year. Punctuality
module for better train monitoring and analysis of delay
has already been implemented last year.
Catering
Railways are making all out efforts to improve the catering
services by serving cleaner, healthier and tastier food
to the passengers both at stations and on trains. Railways
will also endeavour to make available wholesome milk
and milk products at all catering outlets towards which
a beginning has been made by serving "mattha"
and "lassi". With a view to provide pure and
wholesome products to the passengers and to give employment
opportunities to dairy producers, as far as possible,
these will be purchased from dairy units of co-operative
sector. As far as other eatables are concerned, with
a view to increase the earnings from the catering contracts,
complete transparency and competitiveness will be ensured
in the award of contracts.
Improving
Cleanliness
To improve cleanliness at stations and in trains, General
Managers of all the zonal railways have been directed
to take special steps. A nationwide cleanliness drive
has also been launched. In order to infuse a spirit
of excellence, it has been decided to hold inter-divisional
competition in which all the railway divisions will
be evaluated by the Headquarters' Committees comprising
of senior officers of concerned departments. The best
divisions will be given the Cleanliness Efficiency Shield.
Best stations will also be selected and awarded. Where
the cleanliness level is found to be unsatisfactory,
responsibility will be fixed on the concerned officers
and employees.
As an environment friendly measure, Railways are discouraging
the use of plastics. To this end all the Catering Units
have been directed to make available disposable "Kulhars"
in place of plastic and thermocol cups. Apart from being
more hygienic, this measure will also improve employment
in the rural sector.
Environment
Friendly Toilet system
As per policy announced by the Ministry of Rural Development,
which envisages total sanitation by the year 2012 and
elimination of open defecation all over the country,
Indian Railways have taken up a project of development
of an environment friendly coach toilet discharge system,
as a part of RDSO's Technology Mission on Railway Safety.
According
to Mahatma Gandhi, Khadi is the symbol of India's unity,
economic independence and equality. In the poetic language
of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru this ultimately is the uniform
of the Indian independence. Giving this due regard,
I have instructed that henceforth upholstery and linen
exclusively of handloom/khadi variety should be procured.
A new Bookstall Policy for Indian Railways has been
formulated. In this policy a 25% reservation for allotment
of bookstalls for SC/ST/OBC, minorities, war widows,
those below the poverty line, physically challenged
individuals, Railway employees' widows has been introduced
on 'B', 'C' and 'D' class stations. Unemployed graduates
and their associations and philanthropic organizations
only can get allotment on 'B', 'C' and 'D' class stations.
At 'A' class stations, a two packet tender system has
been introduced. The new policy does away with the system
of the sole selling rights and provides for a uniform
tenure of five years.
In order to arrest the declining trend of ground water
availability, instructions have been issued to railways
for strictly following the methods of water conservation
through roof-top rain water harvesting.
Better
availability of rakes to the Customers
Railway wagons are largely procured from wagon manufacturing
units in the private as well as the public sector. Railways'
have only a meagre capacity for manufacturing wagons
in their workshops. In the last year, due to various
reasons, there has been a considerable shortfall in
supply of wagons, with private sector units complying
with only two-thirds of the orders placed and public
sector units only one-third. Against our requirement
of 19050 four wheeler units of traffic wagons only 13,471
were manufactured in 2003-04.
With the anticipated incremental loading, Railways have
to take all steps to augment the wagon supply. I myself
had a dialogue with the wagon manufacturers and impressed
upon them the necessity to expedite supplies. Further,
with the available infrastructure and manpower, Railway
workshops can manufacture wagons with marginal inputs.
To meet the demand, apart from pursuing existing wagon
manufacturers, wagon production will also be started
at Jamalpur workshop which at present has the in-house
capability to even manufacture 140 tonne crane.
Nevertheless, Railways have surpassed their loading
target with several measures to increase the availability
of rakes. These measures include improvement in the
handling capacity of freight terminals, control over
the number of ineffective wagons, better management
of terminals through the intensive use of Freight Operations
Information System (FOIS) and impressing upon the customers
to reduce detention of rakes at the terminals. We now
propose to encourage rail users to adopt round the clock
loading and unloading of rakes at terminals.
Thrust
on Export/Import traffic through Port connectivity
The Railway is giving a thrust on export/import traffic
by speedy evacuation of incoming traffic from the ports
and making available additional wagons and containers
for outgoing export cargo. The Railway is also investing
through the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited to provide hinterland
rail connectivity to both existing as well as new ports
under development, to further give a boost to such traffic.
Roll
on Roll off Scheme (RoRo)
Konkan Railway runs a Roll on Roll off (RoRo) scheme
whereby trucks are loaded on a train at the rate of
one truck per wagon, at a point and transported to their
destination. This provides a door to door multimodal
service with greater customer satisfaction besides being
more fuel efficient and eco-friendly than through movement
by trucks. Railways have initiated the process to develop
special wagons which will enable more than one truck
to be carried in each wagon to optimize utilization
of assets. The Railways will consider introduction of
this service once the wagon design is finalized.
Transportation
of Milk, Vegetables and Fruits
Railways will encourage a higher level of movement of
milk by tankers from the various regions of the country.
As milk is a perishable commodity, these tankers will
be attached to suitable trains. To provide better services
for transportation of fruits, vegetables and other perishable
commodities, more refrigerated parcel vans will progressively
be introduced on the railways.
Concessions
Concession
to widows of Defence personnel killed in action against
terrorists/extremists
The
widows of policemen and para military personnel killed
in action against terrorists/extremists are eligible
for 75 percent concession in second and sleeper classes.
However, the widows of Defence personnel in the similar
circumstances, are not eligible for the same. With a
view to recognizing the sacrifices by the Defence personnel
who get killed in action against terrorists/extremists,
it is proposed to grant the same concession to the widows
of Defence personnel as granted to widows of policemen
and para military personnel.
Concession
to Deaf/Dumb persons.
A deaf and dumb person is allowed 50 percent concession
in First, Second and Sleeper classes as well as in season
tickets. However, there is no provision of rail concession
for an escort accompanying the deaf and dumb person.
Considering the need for an escort with a person who
is both deaf and dumb, it is proposed to grant the same
concession to the escort as allowed to a deaf and dumb
person.
Concession
to Haemophilia patients
It is proposed to grant rail concession to persons suffering
with severe or moderate haemophilia disease when they
travel for treatment/check up in the recognized hospitals.
The element of concession will be 75 per cent in the
second/sleeper/first/AC chair car and AC 3-tier classes.
Escort, if any, traveling with the patient will also
be eligible for the same concession.
Free
travel facility to unemployed youths
In the Budget Speech of 1998-99, it was announced that
unemployed youth attending interviews for selection
to Central Government jobs will be given full concession
in second class on production of a certified copy of
call letter and application. Due to unavoidable reasons,
this could not be implemented. It is now proposed to
implement the proposal of giving full concession, as
was announced earlier.
Projects
During the year 2003-04, 1222 kms of BG lines were added
to the Railway system. I am happy to inform the House
that the long pending project of Jammu-Udhampur has
been completed. This will go a long way in the overall
development of the Jammu & Kashmir State. The progress
of the new line project Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla
has also been expedited and the stretches between Udhampur-Katra
and Qazigund-Baramulla are likely to be completed during
2005-06.
So far as the targets for completion of projects for
the current year is concerned, equal importance is being
given to all the regions of the country. Accordingly,
the work of new line from Jiribam to Imphal (Tupul)
which was sanctioned in the course of last year is being
taken up. The conversion of Lumding-Silchar MG line
and work of new line from Kumarghat to Agartala will
also be expedited and a programme will be made out for
their time bound completion.
I would also like to make a special mention that the
needs of the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other states, like, Orissa,
Punjab, West Bengal, where there has been a perceived
sense of neglect about railway development works, will
be adequately taken care of and adequate funds will
be made available for satisfactory progress of the ongoing
works in the current year.
For the year 2004-05, a target of addition of nearly
1650 kms of BG lines has been set.
New
Lines
I am happy to state that New Lines Panvel-Karjat, Sasaram-Nokha,
Jagdishpur-Tilaiya, Kakdweep-Namkhana and Una-Churaru-Takrala
have been completed. In 2004-05, Railways propose to
complete 273 kms of New Lines including following sections:
i)
Amravati-Chandurbazar of Amravati-Narkher
ii) Rajgir-Natesar of Rajgir-Tilaiya
iii) Nokha-Sanjauli of Ara-Sasaram
iv) Banka-Barahat of Deogarh-Sultanganj
v) Chandigarh-Morinda of Chandigarh-Ludhiana
vi) Kakinada-Kotipalli
vii) Kanthi-Digha of Tamluk-Digha
viii) Mahendralalnagar-Amta of Howrah-Amta
ix) Hassan-Shravanabelagola and Bangalore-Neelamangala
of Bangalore-Hassan
On completion of the last segment of Tamluk-Digha new
line project, the famous tourist resort of Digha will
have rail connectivity. The completion of Chandigarh-Morinda
section of the Chandigarh-Ludhiana project would provide
a shorter, direct link between Chandigarh and Anandpursahib.
The famous Jain pilgrimage center of Shravanabelagola
would also get connected with the rail network. The
pending projects of Kakinada-Kotapalli restoration and
Howrah-Amta are also getting completed.
Gauge
Conversion
During 2003-04, gauge conversions of New Jalpaiguri-Samukhtala
Road, Bandikui-Bharatpur, Jasai - Munabao, Kabakaputtur
- Subramanya Road, Villupuram - Pondicherry, Rajpalaiyam
- Tenkasi, Vadalur - Cuddalore, Thanjavur -Kumbakonam,
Junagarh - Veraval and Dhola - Bhavnagar have been completed.
During the year 2004-05, a target of completion of 1000
kms of gauge conversion has been proposed which include
the following sections:
i)
Mansi-Saharsa
ii) Bharatpur-Agra Fort of Agra Fort-Bandikui
iii) Udaipur-Chittaurgarh of Ajmer - Udaipur
iv) Samukhtala Road-New Bongaigaon of New Jalpaiguri-
New Bongaigaon
v) Manoharabad-Nizamabad of Secunderabad-Mudkhed
vi) Adilabad-Kinwat of Mudkhed-Adilabad
vii) Gondia-Balaghat of Jabalpur-Gondia
viii) Ranchi-Lohardaga
ix) Rupsa-Baripada of Rupsa-Bangriposi
x) Bankura-Sonamukhi of Bankura Damodar River
railway line
xi) Madurai-Manamadurai of Madurai-Rameswaram
xii) Thanjavur-Thiruvarur of Trichy-Nagore-Karaikal
xiii) Subramanya-Sakleshpur of Hassan-Mangalore
xiv) Bijapur-Bagalkot of Solapur-Gadag
xv) Sihor-Palitana of Surendranagar-Pipavav
xvi) Viramgam-Mehsana of Bhildi-Viramgam
xvii) Barsoi-Radhikapur of Katihar-Jogbani and Katihar-
Radhikapur
With the completion of above works, the gauge conversion
projects of Hassan-Mangalore and Agra Fort-Bandikui
are getting completed. The famous lake city of Udaipur
would get connected with the broad gauge rail network
thereby facilitating the tourist traffic in this area
especially that moving by Palace on Wheels. The completion
of gauge conversion of Samukhtala-New Bongaigaon section
would provide two BG lines between New Jalpaiguri and
Guwahati thereby meeting the demands of traffic moving
to and from Northeastern Region. The completion of Secunderabad-Mudkhed
project will provide an alternative shorter direct route
to Mumbai.
Doubling
During 2003-04 doublings of 206 kms have been completed,
while for the year 2004-05, a target of 381 kms have
been proposed. In Kerala, the impetus for progressing
with the doubling of Mangalore-Shoranur is being maintained
and 30 kms in Calicut-Shoranur portion will be doubled
in the current year. In Punjab, doubling of Suchipind-Bhogpur,
Madhopur-Bharoli and Mukerian-Mirthal of Jallandhar-Jammu
Tawi project are slated for completion during the year.
With the completion of Ahmedpur-Sainthia, the entire
Khana-Sainthia route in West Bengal will get doubled.
The doubling of Hospet-Tornagallu-Bellary and Hagari-Guntakal
will augment capacity on Hospet-Guntakal section, falling
in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh boosting iron ore movement.
Doublings of Amroha-Moradabad, Manikpur-Kataidandi in
Uttar Pradesh and Barauni-Tilrath, Seemapur-Katihar
and Mansi-Maheshkunt in Bihar would add to the line
capacity on certain congested routes. Besides these,
some other sections are also targeted for doubling adding
up to a total of 381 Km.
Hon'ble Members will be happy to know that doublings
of Pandabeswar-Chinpain, Jaipur-Phulera, Bilaspur-Salka
Road, Chhapra-Ekma and Gonda-Mankapur have been included
in the budget. The completion of these works is expected
to ease the traffic flow and generate additional capacity
on some of the saturated routes.
Surveys
I had written to the Hon'ble Members about the Rail
Projects and other rail facility works in progress in
their state. There have been demands from the Hon'ble
Members for expansion of rail network in various parts
of the country. Based on these demands, following surveys
are proposed for inclusion in the budget:
I.
New surveys for the following New Lines are being taken
up:
i)
Machlipattnam-Repalli
ii) Jaggiyapet-Vishnupuram
iii) Rayadurg-Tumkur via Kalyandurg
iv) Tindivanam-Nagari via Vandivash,Cheyyar, Arani,
Arcot, Ranipet, Walajahpet, Sholinghur, R.K. Pet, Podatur,
Pallipattu
v) Bariarpur and Mananpur via Kharagpur-Laxmipur-Barhat
vi) Sultanganj and Katoria via Asarganj, Tarapore, Belhar
vii) Ara-Bhabua Road
viii) Chhapra-Muzaffarpur via Garkha,Maker and Rewaghat
ix) Hathua-Deoria via Line Bazar, Salarkhurd, Phulwaria,
Bathua Bazar, Pandeuri, Bhagipatti, Samhour, Katea
x) Parwanoo to Darlaghat
xi) Kandra to Namkom
xii) Buramara -Chakulia
xiii) Chennai-Sriperumbudur via Poonamalli
xiv) Budge Budge-Pujali
xv) Chowrigacha to Kandi
xvi) Balurghat-Hilli
xvii) Samsi-Chanchal-Harishchandrapur
xviii) Tirur-Angadipuram
II.
Surveys for the following New Lines are being updated:
i)
Ongole-Donakonda
ii) Nadikudi-Sri Kalahasti
iii) Bhadrachallam-Kovvur
iv) Cuddapah to Bangalore via Madanapalli
v) Bihariganj-Kursela via Rupauli, Dhamdaha
vi) Bihariganj-Simribakhtiarpur
vii) Motihari to Sitamarhi via Shivhar
viii) Madhepura-Singheshwarasthan-Karjayen-Bhimnagar
ix) Bhanupalli-Bilaspur
x) Chatra-Gaya
xi) Gotegaon to Ramtek via Seoni
xii) Phalodi-Nagaur
xiii) Ratlam-Banswara via Dungarpur
xiv) Bilara-Bar
xv) Pushkar-Merta Road
xvi) Ujjain-Jhalawar/ Ramganjmandi
xvii) Jolarpettai-Hosur via Dharmapuri
xviii) Agartala-Sabroom
xix) Rishikesh-Doiwala
xx) Jhargram-Purulia
xxi) Golagokaran Nath- Shahjanpur via Mohammadi
xxii) Galgalia-Supaul via Araria
III.
New Surveys for conversion of the following lines to
broad gauge are being taken up:
i)
Baraigram-Kumarghat
ii) Ankleswar-Rajpipla
iii) Katwa-Ahmedpur
iv) Aluabari-Siliguri via Galgalia
IV.
Surveys for gauge conversion of the following lines
are being updated:
i)
Miyagam-Dabhoi-Samlaya
ii) Samni-Jambusar-Veshwamatri and Jambusar-Kavi
iii) Kolar-Chickballapur
iv) Dindigul-Pollachi - Coimbatore and Pollachi-Palghat
v) Ratlam-Mhow via Indore
vi) Dholpur-Sirmuttra with extension upto Gangapur City
vii) Loharu-Sikar-Churu-Ringus-Jaipur & Suratpura-Hanumangarh
viii) Bhojipura-Pilibhit-Tanakpur
ix) Lucknow-Bareilly via Sitapur-Lakhimpur-Pilibhit
x) Krishnanagar-Nabadwipghat
xi) Katwa-Barddhaman
xii) Pratapnagar-Chotaudepur
xiii) Sadulpur-Ratangarh-Bikaner & Ratangarh-Degana
V.
New Surveys for doubling of the following lines are
being taken up:
i)
Salem-Bangalore
ii) Trivandrum-Kanniyakumari
iii) Chengalpattu-Tuticorin
iv) Composite survey for Ghaziabad-Mugalsarai 3rd line
v) Santipur-Kalinarayanpur
vi) Rajgoda-Durga Chak
vii) Doubling and electrification of Vijaywada-Gudivada-Bhimavaram-Narasapur
and Gudivada-Machlipatnam
VI.
Surveys for doubling of the following lines are being
updated:
i)
Kiul-Nawadah-Gaya
ii) Virar-Ahmedabad 3rd line
iii) Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur
iv) Meerut-Saharanpur
v) Kharagpur-Midnapore via Girimaidan
vi) Bandel-Katwa
vii) Krishnanagar-Lalgola
viii) Ramanagram-Mysore
Electrification
During the year 2003-04, 504 route kilometres have been
electrified, which include Phagwara-Amritsar, Lakkadkot-Dhekwad,
Ballapalle- Nandalur, Balasore-Ranital and Jahanabad-Patna.
With this, the electrification of Patna-Gaya, Udhna-Jalgaon,
Chengalpattu-Villupuram and Ludhiana-Amritsar rail lines
has been completed and train services on electric traction
have been introduced on these sections during the last
year. For 2004-05, electrification of 375 route kilometres
has been targeted. This will cover the following sections
falling in the states of Kerala (160 Route Kilometres),
Orissa (153 RKM), Uttaranchal (34 RKM) and Uttar Pradesh
(28 RKM):
(i)
Chenganasheri - Kayankulam
(ii) Shertalai - Kayankulam
(iii) Kayankulam - Paravur
(iv) Kapilas Road - Cuttack
(v) Ranital - Bhadrak & Bhadrak Yard
(vi) Kenduapada - Kapilas Road
(vii) Khurda Road - Puri
(viii) Roorkee - Najibabad.
Suburban
Transport Projects
Phase I of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) and
the extension of Kolkata Metro Railway from Tolleyganj
to Garia are progressing satisfactorily. The extension
of Kolkata circular Railway from Princepghat to Majerhat
as well as Dum Dum to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport
is expected to be completed during the year. The entire
section of MRTS (Phase II) from Tirumalai to Velachery
shall be made operational fully by April 2005. The conversion
of MG lines of the suburban system between Chennai (Egmore)
and Tambaram to broad gauge are expected to be completed
by March 2005.
Throughput
Enhancement Works
In order to carry the targeted freight traffic and meet
the demands of the core sectors of the economy during
the remaining period of Tenth Plan, Ministry of Railways
have decided to complete 62 identified throughput enhancement
works. The accelerated completion of these works would
result in augmentation of the sectional capacity, de-bottlenecking
of saturated sections and terminals, improve operational
flexibility, better utilization of rolling stock and
ensure safety of operations.
The works urgently required for this purpose have been
identified. It has been decided that all such sanctioned
works will be completed by the end of 10th
plan for which appropriate allocation of funds will
be made in the remaining three years of the current
plan, including current year.
Rail
Vikas Nigam Limited
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) was set up in January
2003 to undertake the bankable projects of the Golden
Quadrilateral & Port Connectivity segments under
the National Rail Vikas Yojana. Works for 56 projects
under the Yojana (both sanctioned as well as unsanctioned)
have been handed over to RVNL. In addition to project
execution, RVNL will also undertake resource mobilization
from the domestic market or through public private partnerships,
BOT schemes, etc.
Development
of alternative routes
The Golden Quadrilateral and diagonals of the railway
system are heavily congested routes and strengthening
of these routes have been taken up as part of National
Rail Vikas Yojana. Surveys and construction of gauge
conversion and new lines have been undertaken with a
view to provide alternate routes to decongest the heavily
utilized ones. These include gauge conversion of Kanpur-Kasganj-Mathura,
Agra-Bandikui, Ajmer-Chittaurgarh, Neemuch-Ratlam, Bijapur-Gadag,
Dharmavaram-Pakala, Chhindwara-Nagpur, Mudkhed-Adilabad,
Nizamabad-Secunderabad and Jabalpur-Gondia and new lines
Ramaganjmandi-Bhopal, Dallirajhara-Jagdalpur, Solapur-Tuljapur-Osmanabad,
Gaya-Chhatra-Tori and Bhind-Etawah.
New
Production Unit for Wheel Manufacture
Presently rail wheels are being produced by Rail Wheel
Factory, Bangalore and Durgapur Steel Plant, Durgapur.
However, there exists a shortage of wheel manufacturing
capacity in the country which is met through imports.
It is estimated that the capacity shortfall would be
around 60 - 70 thousand wheels by the year 2009-10.
To reduce our dependence on imports, through which supplies
are not only uncertain but costlier, besides involving
outgo of foreign exchange, it is proposed to set up
a new wheel manufacturing plant at Chhapra, for which
a detailed project report will be prepared. Major raw
material is scrap steel which is abundantly available
with Indian Railways. With this we will move a step
closer to self-sufficiency.
Production
Units
I am glad to inform the Hon'ble members that the performance
of all the railway production units was satisfactory
during the last year. Apart from meeting the requirements
of Railways, we have also exported diesel locomotives
and spare parts worth Rs. 44.75 crore to Tanzania, Malaysia,
West Africa and Bangladesh.
Scrap
Disposal
Indian Railways sell approximately 10 lakh tonnes of
metallic scrap every year. Hon'ble members have, from
time to time, expressed concern about malpractices in
such scrap sales. I have now decided to explore the
possibility of in-house utilization of this scrap by
recycling it, instead of selling it to outside parties,
subject to a detailed examination of the logistics,
cost benefit analysis etc.
Vigilance
In keeping with the determination of the Government
to root out corruption from public life, the Vigilance
Organization on the Railways have identified traffic
undercharges, scrap disposal and irregularities in staff
payments as thrust areas for intensive vigilance scrutiny
in order to prevent possible leakage of revenue. Installation
of electronic weighbridges, computerization of stores
accounts, etc., are some of the measures being taken
in this connection. The Vigilance continued its drive
in mass contact areas such as passenger reservation,
luggage and parcel bookings, trains, catering and settlement
of claims which has resulted in realization of earnings
to the tune of Rs. 4.20 crores approximately in 2003-04.
Industrial
Relations
Indian Railways have continuous dialogue with Staff
Federations through the Permanent Negotiating Machinery
(PNM). There is also a regular dialogue with officers
as well as staff federations through the forum 'Participation
of Railway Employees in Management' (PREM). We have
been getting the full cooperation and participation
of these federations in achieving the targets and laying
down the future road map.
Railways are undertaking various welfare schemes for
the betterment of Railway employees which are constantly
reviewed with an eye on improvement. For encouraging
the welfare and empowerment of the women employees,
a new activity has been provided for under the Staff
Benefit Fund. Based on the per capita contribution of
fifty paise, a sum of about Rs 7 lakh has been set aside.
This would be utilized exclusively for the welfare and
empowerment activities for women employees.
Facilities
for licensed porters
In order to further improve the lot of the licensed
porters, Railways have provided shelters at stations
where they can take rest. It is proposed that these
shelters will be improved by providing funds to the
extent of Rs. 5 crore.
Even though the porters (coolies) working on the railway
stations are not railway servants, the facility of one
set of privilege pass for the licensed porter for self
only is permitted from the station of working to any
station on Indian Railways and back in second/sleeper
class. I now propose to extend this facility to the
spouse of the porter also.
Social
Security Scheme for Unorganized Sector
Sir, In the Common Minimum Programme we are committed
to enhancing the welfare and well-being of workers particularly
in the unorganized sector and assure a secure future
for their families in every respect. As far as the Railways
are concerned, we have always been a model employer.
As the House is aware, a social security scheme for
unorganized sector workers is being implemented in 50
districts on a pilot basis. Under this scheme there
is a provision for Health Insurance through Universal
Insurance Scheme, a personal accident insurance cover
of Rs. 1 lakh and minimum old age pension of Rs. 500
per month on attaining the age of 60 years. I propose
to cover workers in the unorganized sector coming into
contact with the Railways such as licensed porters (coolies),
vendors, hawkers, people working in stalls, cycle stand,
construction workers, etc., in this scheme. As a measure
of good will, I propose to make a grant to the 'Unorganised
Workers Social Security Fund' so that the licensed porters,
who are self-employed, may also be covered by this scheme.
An awareness and education campaign will also be launched
to enable these licensed porters who are self employed
to join the scheme by making appropriate contribution.
So far as other unorganized sector workers associated
with Railways who are employed by contractors/licensees
are concerned, appropriate provisions will be incorporated
in the terms of the contract in consultation with the
Labour and Law Ministries, to enable the contractors/licensees
to implement the provisions of this social security
scheme. I sincerely hope that this will become a milestone
in bringing a large number of unorganized workers under
social security net.
Reservation
I am glad to inform this august House that the prescribed
percentage of representation for Scheduled Castes has
been achieved in all groups of railway services. However,
the representation of Scheduled Tribes in all the groups
of services except Group 'A' is slightly less than the
prescribed percentage of 7.5 percent, due to non-availability
of eligible candidates. I have directed to launch a
special drive for clearing the backlog in respect of
reserved vacancies for Scheduled Tribes.
As far as the representation of Other Backward Classes
(OBCs) is concerned, I would like to inform the House
that since the introduction of reservation for them
(year 1993) every effort is being made to recruit OBCs
in direct recruitment categories as per the prescribed
percentage quota. Although not much shortfall is found
in Group 'A' categories, there is a shortfall in filling
up such direct recruitment quota posts at Group 'C'
& 'D' levels on account of non-availability of suitable
candidates and candidates not joining after being selected.
I have directed to launch a special drive for clearing
the backlog in respect of reserved vacancies for Other
Backward Classes.
Sports
In the field of sports, the performance of Indian Railways
during the year 2003-04 has been outstanding both at
National and International levels. It is a matter of
great pride that Railway sportspersons have given a
splendid performance in the Afro Asian Games
2003 held at Hyderabad. Besides Indian Railways volleyball,
basketball and golf teams won first ever Gold, Silver
and Bronze medals respectively in World Railway Championships
of 2003-04.
At the National level, Railway athletes won 16 National
titles in different games and stood runners-up in 12
disciplines. Seven sportspersons have been honoured
with prestigious Arjuna Award and one each with Dhyan
Chand and Dronacharya Awards. I would like to make a
special mention regarding Miss K.M. Beenamol, a Railway
athlete, who has been honoured with the Padmashri and
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards during the year. This
is the first ever time 10 Railway sportspersons have
been honoured with such awards in a year.
Public
Sector Undertakings
The performance of public sector undertakings has been
consistently satisfactory during the year 2002-03 also.
IRCON International Limited had a turnover of Rs. 800
crore and earned a net profit of Rs. 87 crore. It paid
a dividend of Rs. 18.81 crore for the year 2002-03.
RITES Limited has achieved its highest ever total income
of Rs. 321.5 crore recording a net profit of Rs. 54.4
crore for the year 2002-03. It paid a dividend of Rs.
5 crore. The Container Corporation of India Limited
(CONCOR) had a total income of Rs. 1,534 crore, earning
a profit of Rs. 272.8 crore and paid Rs. 71.5 crore
as dividend. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation Limited (IRCTC) had a turnover of Rs. 73.6
crore and earned a net profit of Rs. 5.5 crore. It paid
a dividend of Rs. 1.2 crore for the year 2002-03. The
Corporation started the service of internet ticket booking
which was extended to more than100 cities in India.
Indian Railway Finance Corporation mobilized Rs. 2,775
crore during 2002-03 from domestic and overseas markets
and has financed the acquisition of 68 electric locomotives,
92 diesel locomotives, 1653 coaches and 4731 wagons
which have been leased to the Railways. During the year
IRFC achieved a net profit of Rs. 334.5 crore and paid
a dividend of Rs. 101 crore.
Konkan
Railway Corporation
The Konkan Railway Corporation has consistently been
improving its performance in the last three years of
its operations. However, as nearly 70 percent of the
capital cost has been met through market borrowings,
the Corporation has a heavy interest burden of about
Rs. 300 cr per annum due to heavy debt servicing involved.
This is apart from the redemption of bonds which are
already due. The Railways have been giving continued
financial support to this Corporation. I propose to
take up the financial problems faced by the Corporation
with the participating State Governments of Kerala,
Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra to find a solution.
Passenger
Amenities
. There are more than 8000 stations on Indian Railways
which are used by millions of passengers everyday. I
have decided to pay special attention towards maintenance
and improvement to the passenger amenities at the stations.
While an amount of Rs. 178 crore, Rs. 175 crore and
Rs. 169 crore was spent in the previous three years
respectively, a sum of Rs. 215 crore is being provided
for improvement to passenger amenities this year to
give a thrust to this area.
This budgeted outlay of Rs. 215 crore shall be spent
on specially identified passenger amenity works such
as provision of safe and good quality drinking water
disinfected by using modern techniques, provision of
washable aprons, clean toilets, adequate booking windows,
extension of platforms to accommodate full length trains,
raising of platform levels, provision and widening of
foot over bridges and sub-ways.
This will go a long way in ensuring higher standards
of cleanliness and hygiene, safe and convenient movement
of passengers at the stations, easing of congestion
and better passenger dispersal. Such works shall be
in progress at approximately 1100 stations.
The deficiencies in the Minimum Essential Passenger
Amenities at all the stations shall be made good by
the end of March 2005.
Special emphasis shall also be given to passenger amenities
friendly to physically challenged persons. Railways
are endeavouring to provide facilities such as exclusive
parking, ramp to main station building, low level toilets
and low level drinking water taps, non-slippery pathways
and 'May I Help You' booths, on all 225 'A' class stations
by March 2005. These facilities will be extended to
all 283 'B' class stations in the next three years i.e.,
by March 2007.
To improve the amenities available for passengers traveling
in sleeper class, it has been decided to provide additional
facilities, such as snack tables in each bay, magazine
holder, bottle and tumbler holders and a mirror in each
bay of the compartment (for 8 passengers), in GSCN type
of coaches. I am glad to inform the House that all new
coaches are being manufactured with crash worthiness
features.
Special
Measures for Women commuters
Deployment of Lady Ticket Checking Squads on some sections
of zonal Railways has proved helpful in infusing a sense
of security among the female passengers traveling by
trains. Encouraged by the results of this experimental
step taken by Indian Railways, we have decided to extend
the deployment of such lady squads over all the zonal
Railways wherever it is required.
In order to ease the problem faced by women commuters,
it has been decided that unauthorized vendors will not
be allowed to enter the women's compartment in suburban
trains. Stickers indicating the phone numbers of the
security helpline will be affixed prominently in the
compartments.
Other
Measures
The House had also been informed that in order to prevent
coaches from climbing over each other in case of an
accident tightlock center buffer couplers would progressively
be introduced. In this respect, apart from the new coaches
of German design, which have this feature, ICF design
coaches are also fitted with such couplers, and it is
planned that the following long distance 24-coach trains
shall also be fitted with these couplers:
i.
Tamil Nadu Express from Chennai to New Delhi
ii.
Andhra Pradesh Express from Hyderabad to New Delhi
iii. Godavari Express from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam
iv. Charminar Express from Hyderabad to Chennai
Railway Administration will, as far as possible, try
to ensure to increase the number of unreserved ordinary
class coaches in the heavily crowded long distance passenger
trains.
"Village-on-Wheels"
Tourist train for Common Man
Indian Railways have been running trains for upper-end
tourists like Palace on Wheels, Royal Orient, etc. No
such facility exists for common people particularly
from small towns and villages. It is proposed to run
tourist special trains of ordinary sleeper class coaches
which will run to a pre-determined schedule. These trains
will collect the tourists from a region and take them
to important places of religious and historical importance
at affordable cost. Apart from promoting tourism this
will enable the common man to travel around the country
easily.
New
Services
In the Interim Rail Budget for 2004-05, 18 pairs of
Sampark Kranti Express trains were proposed. Of these
Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express has already been introduced
as a tri-weekly service in February 2004.
. To cater to the needs of New Delhi Darbhanga
sector, it is proposed to extend the already announced
New Delhi Samastipur Bihar Sampark Kranti Express
to Darbhanga.
With this, the new services proposed for the year 2004-05
are as follows:
(A) Introduction
Sampark
Kranti Express
(1)
Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express from New Delhi to
Guwahati
(2) Andhra Pradesh Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi
(Nizamuddin) to Secunderabad
(3) Bihar Sampark Kranti Express from New Delhi to Darbhanga
(4) Chattisgarh Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi (Nizamuddin)
to Durg
(5) Gujarat Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi (Nizamuddin)
to Ahmedabad
(6) Jharkand Sampark Kranti Express from New Delhi to
Ranchi
(7) Kerala Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi (Nizamuddin)
to Trivandrum (Kochuveli)
(8) Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi (Nizamuddin)
to Mumbai (Bandra)
(9) Madhya Pradesh Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi
(Nizamuddin) to Jabalpur
(10) Orissa Sampark Kranti Express from New Delhi to
Bhubaneshwar
(11) Rajasthan Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi to
Jodhpur
(12) Tamil Nadu Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi (Nizamuddin)
to Madurai
(13) Uttar Pradesh Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi
(Nizamuddin) to Chitrakoot
(14) Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi to
Kathgodam
(15) West Bengal Sampark Kranti Express from New Delhi
to Kolkata (Sealdah)
(16) Goa Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi (Nizamuddin)
to Madgaon
(17)
Uttar Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi to Udhampur,
to cater for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab
and Haryana.
Frequency
of these Sampark Kranti trains will be decided depending
upon their patronage.
Other
new trains:
(18)
Muzaffarpur-Ahmedabad Jansadharan Express (weekly)
(19) Chennai Central-Nagercoil Express (weekly)
(20) Muzaffarpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Jansadharan
Express (weekly)
(21) Ramnagar-Moradabad Passenger (daily)
(22) Bangalore City-Bangarapet Express (daily)
(23) Saharasa-Mansi Passenger (daily)
(24) Chararu Takrala-Ambala Cantt DMU service (daily)
(25) Chennai Egmore-Kumbakonam Express (daily)
(26) Mysore-Dharwar Express (daily)
(27) Chennai Central-Hubli Express (weekly)
(28) Chennai Egmore-Tenkasi-Sengottai Express (after
gauge conversion)
(29) Jaipur-Agra Fort Express (after gauge conversion)
(30) Delhi-Faizabad Express
(31) Indore-Patna Express via Faizabad (weekly)
(32) Guwahati-Jha Jha Express via Jasidih (weekly)
(1)
8411/8412 Bhubaneswar-Srikakulam Express upto Vishakhapatnam.
(2) 8303/8304 Sambhalpur-Bhubaneswar Express upto Puri.
(3) 1 BSL/339 Bikaner-Bathinda Passenger upto Abohar.
(4) 199/200 Jaipur-Bikaner Passenger upto Suratgarh.
(5) 7029/7030 Hyderabad-Ernakulam Sabri Express upto
Kochuveli.
(6) 2069/2070 Raigarh-Dongargarh Janshatabdi upto Gondia.
(7) 5711/5712 New Jalpaiguri-Asansol Express upto Alipurduar
on one hand and Ranchi on the other.
(8) 9049/9050 Rajendra Nagar-Valsad Express upto Bandra
Terminus.
(9) Two pairs of Mankapur-Katra Passengers to Faizabad.
(1)
1067/1068 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus -Faizabad Saket Express
from weekly to bi-weekly.
(2) 2313/2314 New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express from
5
days to daily.
(3) 6507/6508 Jodhpur-Bangalore Express from weekly
to bi-weekly.
(4) 1017/1018 Bangalore-Mumbai Chalukya Express from
tri-weekly to six days a week by cancelling 1049/1050
Dadar-Yashwantpur Express (bi-weekly).
(5) 3149/3150 Sealdah-Alipurduar Kanchankanya Express
from tri-weekly to 4 days a week.
(6) 2141/2142 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Rajendra Nagar
Express from 6 days a week to daily.
(7) 2957/2958 New Delhi-Ahmedabad Rajdhani Express from
tri-weekly to 6 days a week.
(8) 9319/9320 Indore-Bhind Express from weekly to tri-weekly
by extending 9307/9308 Indore-Gwalior Express (bi-weekly)
upto Bhind.
(9) 2317/2318 Sealdah-Amritsar Akal Takhat Express from
weekly to bi-weekly by extending 2319/2320 Amritsar-Asansol
Express (weekly) upto Sealdah.
(10) 2129/2130 Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express from 5
days a week to daily by extending 2131/2132 Pune-Nagpur
Express (bi-weekly) upto Howrah.
(11) 6309/6310 Patna-Ernakulam Express from weekly to
bi-weekly.
(12) 2649/2650 Yeshwantpur-Nizamuddin Karnataka Sampark
Kranti Express from tri-weekly to daily.
I earnestly hope that collectively, these 54 pairs of
additional services will go a long way in reinforcing
the resolve of Indian Railways to meet the rising aspirations
of the travelling public from all parts of the country.
Annual
Plan 2004-2005
Sir, I would now like to present the Annual Plan 2004-2005.
The Plan outlay for 2004-2005 has been kept at Rs. 11,265
crore. Taking into account the outlay of Rs. 2,933 crore
on safety related works through the Special Railway
Safety Fund (SRSF), the total outlay comes to Rs. 14,198
crore. This is Rs. 773 crore more than the outlay of
the Interim Budget. For the year 2004-2005, the total
funds received from General Exchequer are the same as
provided in Interim Budget i.e. Rs. 7,020 crore, which
includes Rs. 2,075 crore as contribution towards the
SRSF and Rs. 401 crore from the Central Road Fund. The
corresponding figure for last year's Budget Estimates
was Rs 6577.34 crore, including Rs. 1,600 crore for
the SRSF and Rs. 433 crore from the Central Road Fund.
For the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla National Project
a separate allotment of Rs. 300 crore has been received,
due to which Railways' total plan outlay becomes Rs.
14,498 crore.
In addition to the budgetary support, I propose to provide
Rs. 2,870 crore for plan expenditure through internal
resource generation which is higher than what was budgeted
for last year by Rs. 240 crore. As in previous years,
extra-budgetary resources, mainly through market borrowing
from Indian Railways Finance Corporation will provide
the balance requirement of the Plan. This includes Rs.
3,400 crore as market borrowing and Rs. 50 crore as
investment through a "BOT" project in the
Viramgam-Mehsana Gauge Conversion work. For the Special
Railway Safety Fund, the contribution of the Central
Government would be supplemented by Railways' own contribution
which is expected to be Rs. 858 crore, taking the total
outlay under SRSF to Rs. 2,933 crore.
Sir, the thrust of the Annual Plan is development and
safety. The total outlay under Capital on the five major
plan project heads this year has been kept at Rs. 2,696
crore with Rs. 947 crore on New Lines which, after taking
into account Rs. 300 crore received specifically for
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla New Line, comes to Rs. 1,247
crore. Besides New Lines, Rs. 760 crore on Gauge Conversion,
Rs. 479 crore for Doubling and Rs. 125 crore for Electrification.
The outlay on metropolitan transport projects has been
kept at Rs. 385 crore. Apart from this, Rs. 717 crore
are being allotted to several works in the planheads
New Lines, Doubling, Gauge Conversion and Railway Electrification,
which are to be executed by the Rail Vikas Nigam. The
outlay on safety related planheads, inclusive of outlay
given under the Special Railway Safety Fund, is Rs.
2,570 crore for Track Renewals, Rs. 528 crore for the
Bridges and Rs. 813 crore for Signalling & Telecommunications.
Part II
Budget
Estimates 2004-05
Mr. Speaker Sir, I shall now deal with the Budget Estimates
for 2004-05. The estimates presented to this august
House through the Interim Budget 2004-05 were based
on the Revised Estimates fixed for 2003-04. In the light
of the approximate financial results for 2003-04, which
are now available, the Interim Budget estimates have
been reviewed and updated.
The Interim Budget anticipated a growth rate of 5.49
percent in passenger earnings for the year 2004-05.
However, in the light of actual growth rate achieved
during 2003-04, the passenger earnings are now proposed
to be revised downward from Rs.14,200 crore of Interim
Budget to Rs.13,940 crore.
Freight earnings, which were brought down at the Revised
Estimates stage last year, based on the trend at that
time, showed remarkable recovery during the remaining
part of the last year due to general buoyancy, as a
result of which the revised target was surpassed. Enthused
by this trend, it is proposed to revise the freight
earnings for the current year, duly enhancing the loading
target by 10 million tonnes and fixing the same at 580
million tonnes. Accordingly, the freight earnings, have
been placed at Rs. 28,745 crore, which is Rs. 645 crore
higher than the Interim Budget level.
Other Coaching earnings in the Interim Budget were assessed
at Rs. 990 crore assuming a growth of around 6.5 percent
over the Revised Estimates, 2003-04. These are now assessed
at Rs. 1040 crore taking into account the proposed re-classification
of parcel rates, which is estimated to fetch additional
revenue of Rs. 50 crore. I will come to the details
of this re-classification in the later part of my speech.
Taking note of the shortfall in Sundry Other Earnings
in 2003-04, the target for the current fiscal is being
set at Rs. 1,072 crore, which is Rs. 40 crore lower
than the Interim Budget.
With an additional clearance of Rs. 25 crores of traffic
suspense, the gross traffic receipts for the current
financial year are now estimated at Rs. 44,902 crore,
which are Rs. 420 crore higher than the Interim Budget.
The requirement of funds for Ordinary Working Expenses
for 2004-05, which were placed at Rs. 32,960 crore in
the Interim Budget, have been recast in view of the
savings achieved in the previous year. There have, however,
been post interim budget factors such as merger of 50
percent of DA with the basic pay and increase in the
price of diesel that were naturally not provided in
the Interim Budget. Due to stringent measures taken
by the Railways for expenditure control and zero base
budgeting, the Railways are hopeful of not only absorbing
the impact of these factors within the interim budget
but also reducing the Ordinary Working Expenses by Rs.
100 crore. Accordingly, these are being kept at Rs.
32,860 crore in BE 2004-05.
Appropriation to Depreciation Reserve Fund, which was
kept at Rs. 1900 crore in the Interim Budget, is being
stepped up to Rs.2267 crore. Taking note of present
and future replacement requirements there is a conscious
decision to enhance the funding of the Depreciation
Reserve Fund.
In view of a slight reduction anticipated in the pension
liability, the appropriation to Pension Fund from revenue
is being reduced by Rs. 100 crore over the Interim Budget
level of Rs. 6,390 crore.
Thus the total working expenses now work out to Rs.
41,417 crore and the net traffic receipts come to Rs.
3,485 crore as against Rs. 3,232 cr of Interim Budget.
With a sum of Rs. 993 crore coming from net miscellaneous
receipts, the net railway revenue now works out to Rs.
4,478 crore as against Rs. 4,225 crore of the Interim
Budget. After payment of current dividend of Rs.3,305
crore and Rs. 300 crore towards the deferred dividend
liability, Railways are left with a 'surplus' of Rs.873
crore. With the increased emphasis on safety, it is
proposed to deploy Rs. 158 crore of this surplus through
Special Railway Safety Fund and the remaining through
Development Fund for modernization and development activities.
My effort will be to ensure that the results of greater
efficiency and better capacity utilisation are made
truly meaningful in the national context. The benefits
of better performance of the railways should be passed
on to the common man and the national economy, to contribute
to growth and price stability. It will be my endeavour
to lessen the burden on the economically weaker sections
of the society who are dependent upon the railways for
providing them a relatively inexpensive mode of transport
from one end of the country to the other
With a view to sustain and improve market share, I do
not propose any increase in the freight rates for the
year 2004-05. However, a fresh look at our policies
to develop a long-term relationship with our freight
customers, by offering them suitable incentives for
their investment in the transport infrastructure of
Indian Railways is necessary. In this direction, I intend
to initiate a few steps.
In the last year, the Railways have made a major break
through in part clearance of their long outstanding
dues from the Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS).
Continued clearance and arrest of further accretion
are expected through the introduction of the facility
of electronic payment of freight in a major way, thereby
affording our customers a clean, quick and transparent
facility to render freight payment at the station of
their convenience and in the process also expedite realization
of railway freight earnings. A pilot project for setting
up Electronic Payment Gateway has been proposed under
which the BTPS will be informed of freight payable at
the destination station and electronic transfer of funds
to the Railway's account will take place. This facility,
once established, will be expanded to cover all freight
customers who opt for the same. This will ensure speedy
and secure transfer of funds apart from eliminating
cumbersome and time-consuming paper work.
A new scheme, called "Engine-on-Load" (EOL)
scheme, wherein the train engine will wait during loading
or unloading operation is being introduced to ensure
faster release and better availability of wagons. Under
this scheme, the free time for loading or unloading
will be lower than the existing norms. The EOL customers
will be exempted from payment of engine hire charges,
siding charges, shunting charges and the cost of all
the railway staff posted in the sidings. A system of
debit/credit hours, for computation of demurrage will
be introduced.
In order to encourage rail movement of heavy machinery
consignments for Thermal Power Stations and other industries,
a freight rebate of 10 percent is proposed to be granted
for all such movements undertaken in special type of
wagons, owned by the customers. Further, the technical
staff of the customers and the railway staff, escorting
the consignment, will also be permitted free of charge.
Such movement of heavy consignments by rail will help
in reducing the damage to the roads besides being an
eco-friendly mode of transportation.
In order to remove anomalies in the method of arriving
at the chargeable distance for fare and freight by different
zonal railways, the total distance will be rounded off
to the next higher kilometer only once at the end, instead
of multiple rounding off at intermediate stages. This
rationalization will bring uniformity in charging of
fare and freight.
Passenger
Services
I do not propose any increase in the Passenger fares
for any Class of travel for the year 2004-05.
Parcel
Services
In the parcel segment, a new concept of uniform rates
for all commodities, including luggage, based on the
type of service was introduced instead of commodity-based
rate structure. During this rationalization the rates
for booking of parcels became generally lower. It is
proposed to increase the rates for booking of parcels
by Rajdhani Express trains, under Scale-R, by around
7.1 per cent and fix the rates under Scale-P at around
53 per cent of the rates under Scale-R, as against around
43 per cent at present.
Further, the lowest ScaleE is proposed to be merged
with the Standard ScaleS, reducing the total number
of rate scales from existing 4 Scales to 3 Scales. The
ratio between the highest and the lowest rates will
reduce from 6.2 to 3.0. The rates under ScaleS
will remain unchanged. However, the Newspapers &
Magazines will be booked at concessional rates uniformly
at 45 per cent of the Scale-S rates by all trains.
It is also proposed that all types of special Parcel
trains, including Millennium Parcel Trains, shall be
charged at ScaleP instead of Scale-S.
The above adjustments in parcel rates are expected to
generate additional revenue of Rs. 50 crore during the
remaining period of the current year.
Sir, despite there being no additional resource mobilization
measures by increasing passenger fares or freight rates
and post interim budget factors of 50 per cent DA merger
and increase in diesel price, the Operating Ratio shows
improvement, and is now budgeted at 92.6 per cent against
93 per cent in the Interim Budget.
Conclusion
Sir, I consider it a privilege and also a unique opportunity
to lead the Railways and will make every effort to further
improve its performance so that it will continue to
play a pivotal role in the economic prosperity of this
great country and its people. I acknowledge the enthusiasm
and unstinted support of railwaymen without whose dedicated
efforts the creditable achievements of the Railways
would not have been possible. Our thanks are due to
passengers and users of the Railway whose co-operation
we have always been getting and I expect that this co-operation
will be forthcoming in future too.
Sir, over the last many years Railways have been neglected
to a certain extent. The investment in its infrastructure
has, in real terms, not been sufficient to keep pace
with the growth of the economy and meet the aspirations
of the people as endorsed by the elected representatives
all over the country. I have discussed this issue with
the Hon'ble Prime Minister and he has been kind enough
to express whole-hearted support consistent with the
key role Indian Railways play in the development of
the nation and has also stressed the United Progressive
Alliance Government's commitment to ensure that this
system becomes one of the best Railway systems in the
world, be it technological development, management techniques
or provision of facilities to its users, for which funds
would be forthcoming without any hindrance. While placing
on record my gratitude for this generous gesture, it
will be my endeavour to fulfil the expectations of the
nation, for which apart from implementing the measures
announced, a comprehensive plan will be drawn up.
With
these words, Sir, I commend the Railway Budget 2004-
2005 to the House."
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