Indian Railway Budget 2015-16 Highlights News by Union Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu
Railway budget for the year 2015-16 is presented by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Parliament on 26 February 2015 in Delhi. This is the first union railway budget presented by Modi Government.
The people were expecting some new trains’ announcements but Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu did not declare a single new train. Many businessmen related to railway have appreciated the railway budget 2015-16.
Suresh Prabhu in his first Rail Budget announced a record investment plan of over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2015-16 while sparing the passengers of a fare hike and also proposed a number of steps to increase passenger amenities.
Here are some highlights of the railway budget 2015-16.
Railway Budget 2015-16 :
No increase in passenger fares
No new trains announced
Tickets can be booked 120 days (4 months) in advance instead of 60 days to tackle venderthreat
Expense for passenger amenities increased by 67%likely at 41 per cent (Rs.45100 Cr) in 2015-16
The speed passenger trains across nine corridors will be increased to 160-200 km from 110 km
SMS alert to be introduced for train timings
Introduction to air-conditioned coaches for suburban trains
400 railway stations will have Wi-Fi available
To renovate station redevelopment policy completely
Transport Logistic Corporation of India to be set up to aid expanding cargo handling capacity and provide end-to-end logistic solutions
6608 Kms of track to be electrified
Projects worth Rs 96,182 crore to expand capacity of 9,420 km rail lines
CCTVs to be introduced in select trains and suburban trains for women safety
To have bidding system for redevelopment of stations
To develop 10 satellite railway stations this year
800 km of gauge conversion will be commissioned
E-catering introduced in 108 trains, can order on IRCTC website
To expand water vending machines on more stations
On-board entertainment facility could be extended on Shatabdi trains
Mobile charging stations will be introduced general class coaches
More general class coaches will be added to select trains for benefit of the common man
Railways plans to spend over Rs 8 lakh crore over five years
Pension funds, multi-lateral banks have evinced interest in Railways
Proposed the best operating ratio in nine years, of 88.5 per cent for 2015-16
Railways to go through transformation in five years; to increase track capacity by 10 per cent to 1.38 lakh kilometres
Feasibility report for high speed train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad expected by mid-2015
Wagon-making scheme to be reviewed to make it easier for private investment
To improve cleanliness & design of bed linen
All India 24x7 complaints helpline number 138 to start soon
7,000 more toilets to be replaced by Bio-Toilets, New toilets at 650 stations, more vacuum toilets
Passenger travelling unreserved can get a ticket within 5 minutes
Mobile application to address complaints of people is also being developed
Introduction of integrated ticketing will be done
Hand-held devices for ticket checkers for moving towards paperless ticketing
Centrally managed railway display network in over 2000 stations in next 2 years
Railways will play a big role in socio-economic development of India
Railways facilities have not improved significantly over last few years
Railways has to regain in share in cargo traffic
Railways aims to deliver a sustainable improvement in customer experience and make rail a safer means of travel
Rail-cum-road ticket to be extended to many stations
Train Protection Warning System, Train Collision Avoidance System
Projects for rail connectivity to many ports and mines
To monetize assets rather than sell them
To set up full-fledged Railway University in FY16
Rs.2000 crore for Coastal Connectivity Program; Rs.2500 crore through BOT/Annuity route
Drawing up comprehensive policy to tap latent advertising potential
Online application for all recruitment process
917 safety work projects to eliminate over 3,000 unmanned crossings in all states
PPP cell to be revamped to make it result oriented
Railway budget 2015-16 is not having passenger fare hike which is one key point, but after a very long time there is not a single train is declared in the union railway budget.
So what do you think about railway budget 2015-16??
Are you satisfied with first railway budget by Suresh Prabhu??? |
