Railway Budget highlights

Here are the highlights of the railway minister's Railway Budget speech being delivered in the Lok Sabha

Railway finances

• Gross traffic receipts in 2013-14 was Rs 12,35,558 crore; operating ratio was 94 per cent
• Indian Railways spent Rs 41,000 crore on laying of 3,700 km of new lines in last 10 years
• FY15 Total Expenditure Pegged At Rs.1.49 lakh crore
• FY15 total receipts pegged at Rs.1.64  lakh crore
• Propose to hike budgetary plan outlay to Rs.47,650 crore
• FY15 passenger fare revenue pegged at Rs.44,600 crore
• Large part of the budget outlay to go to safety projects
• Maximum finabcial outlays for projects slated for completion in this area itself
• High priority areas - safety, cleanliness, passenger amenities and capacity augmentation
• Pre-cooked meals by reputed brands, focus on cleanliness and passenger feedback
• Outsource cleaning activities at 50 major stations, separate housekeeping wing for cleanliness and sanitation
• CCTVs to be used for monitoring cleanliness
• R-O drinking water  at stations and trains
• Corporates encouraged to adopt stations for better maintenance and upkeep
• 23 projects underway in North-East. Propose to allocate higher funds than previous year for these

Parcel Traffic, Carrying Milk and Veggies

• Parcel traffic separated to requisite terminals, dedicated trains running on fixed timetable
• New design of parcel vans -- measures taken in order to improve earnings from the parcel system
• Special initiatives via the PPP mode for transport of fruits and vegetables and milk
• bio-diesel upto 5% to be used in diesel locomotives

Reservation system will be revamped

• Railways to scale down market borrowings to Rs. 11,790 crore
• Reservation system will be revamped and ticket-booking through mobile phones and     post offices to be popularised
• Wi-fi Services  in all A Category stations and trains
• To Have Diamond Quadrilateral Network for High-speed Trains
• Allocated Rs. 100 crore For High- Speed Rail Network
• Digital Reservation Charts at stations

Bullet Trains

• Indian Railways on course to fulfill its long cherished dream. I propose a Bullet train on the Ahmedabad- Mumbai sector.
• Higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by upgrading the present network
• Railways plans to increase speed of trains to 160 to 200 km per hour in nine select sectors.

Safety for Women Passengers

• 17,000 Railway Protection Force personnel to be available soon
• Introduction of women RPF constables, coaches meant for women to be escorted for greater safety

Increased Funds for Passenger Amenities and Cleanliness

• Future projects to be financed on public-private partnership model
• Plans to attract investment from domestic and foreign players in infrastructure; focus to be on aggressive indigenisation