Some highlights of Railway Budget 2015-16
26 Feb 2015
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Some highlights:
- No increase in passenger fares
- Passengers without reservations can book iickets in five minutes
- Passengers to be able to book food options from IRCTC website
- Multi-lingual e-ticketing system
- Issue of unreserved tickets on smartphones via apps
- Dial 138 for national helpline for railway-related issues
- Dial 182 toll-free number for security-related calls
- Thrust on cleanliness in
- Toilet facilities at our stations need improvement
- Toilets in 650 stations; replace 17000 toilets
- Develop satellite railway stations in big cities.
- Surveillance cameras to for women's security
- Senior citizens will be able to book wheelchairs online
- To have wi-fi in all category A & B stations
- Phone charging facilities will be provided in trains
- Propose SMS alert services for train arrival, departure times
- Passengers will be able to book food options from IRCTC website
Important financials:
- Rs 8.5 lk cr investment over 5 years
- Operating ratio for FY16 seen at 88.5%
- Increase of track capacity by 14% to 138,000 km
- 11 areas of thrust for railways
Infratructure improvement:
- Vision document 2030 to be released
- 750km of civil contracts and 1,300 km system contracts will be awarded on DFC in FY16. review of private freight terminal (PFT) schemes underway
- Pvt participation to develop feeded route for dedicated freight corridor (DFC)
- Meghalaya and Barak Valley to get Rail connectivity
- To spend Rs 96,182 crore on capacity expansion in FY16
- To partner with private sector to improve rolling stock flee
- Plan to increase annual passenger capacity to 30 million from 21 million.
- Increase annual freight capacity to 1.5 billion from 1 billion.
- Trains to become more punctual in next 5 years. Focus on improving speed of railways.
- Major thrust will be on gauge conversion & electrification
- Will increase investments in railways to create more jobs.
- Priority to improve capacity on high density networks.
- Vicious cycle of under-investment must be put to end. Railways face chronic under-investment in infrastructure.
- Rail facilities not improved much over last two decades.
- Invstment in railways to have a multiplier effect on economy
- Railways will play major role in development of country
The minister said:
- "Take up one idea, make that idea of life-think of it,dream of it,live on that idea" With these words
- Skill development and self employment to be encouraged on Konkan Railway model
- A mechanism for making regulations, setting performance standards and tariffs to be setup
- Investment in Indian Railways is an investment in our future, sustainability and posterity
- 100 DEMUs to be converted to dual fuels
- 1000MV Solar plants to be set-up by developers on Railway Pvt. Land and on Rly Building at own cost
- Full fledged university during 2015-15
- Rs.2000 cr for coastal connectivity program; Rs.2500 cr through BOT/Annuity route. 1000 MWSolar plant; 100DEMUs to dual fuel
- Plan size increased by 52%; 41.6% GBS; 17.8% internal generation
- Process & procedures simplified to prevent delays; internal audit of railway systems
- Decentralise, deregulate and delegate to make freight business simpler
- JV with major public sector companies for meeting requirements of new lines
- Framework to facilitate pvt investment has been readied; MUTP-III, JV with states,PSUs
