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Tuesday 8 July 2014

Highlights of the Indian Rail Budget for FY 14-15


· Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom and I am grateful to PM Modi ji for having reposed his
faith in me, says Railway minister Sadananda Gowda
· Though I am a month old in the ministry, I am flooded with request for new trains, better services, new lines
· Indian Railways is the soul of the economy and our target is to become largest freight carrier in the world
· Indian railways carry only 31% of the total freight in the country. It is a challenge we have to face, says Rail
Minister
· We need to balance social and commercial obligations and we ill start work on high speed network
· There had been focus on sanctioning projects rather than completing them
· There are 4 projects that are over 30 years old but have still not been completed
· Managing the Railways takes most of our resources. We spend 94% of our earnings, are left with just 6 per cent
· The medicine may act bitter in the beginning but will be a nectar in the end: Gowda
· Need Rs 50,000 cr every year for the next ten years for Railways
· Ministry of Railways is seeking cabinet approval for FDI in Railways, except Railway operations
· The fare revision was tough but necessary decision, it will bring Indian Railways an additional revenue of Rs
8000 crore
· Can get claps from this house by announcing new projects but that would be rendering injustice to the
struggling organization
· Gross traffic receipts in 2013-14 was Rs 12,35,558 crore; operating ratio was 94 per cent
· Ministry of Railways is seeking cabinet approval for FDI in Railways, except Railway operations
· Need PPP Route to finance bulk of projects including high speed rail
· Need to have private-public partnership to improve condition of railways
· Through PPP route want to provide foot-over bridges, escalators and lifts across all stations
· Populist projects and mismanagement have brought Railways to point of funds crunch, says Rail Minister
· Indian Railways spent Rs 41,000 crore on laying of 3,700 km of new lines in last 10 years
· Surplus revenues declining. Hardly any resources for development work
· I propose to introduce pre cooked and ready to eat meals of reputed brands and want battery operated cars for
senior citizens at railway stations: Gowda
· Propose to hike budgetary plan outlay to Rs.47,650 crore
· High priority areas - safety, cleanliness, passenger amenities and capacity augmentation
· Large part of the budget outlay to go to safety projects
· Will introduce RO drinking water in trains and on stations
· Propose to outsource cleaning responsibility on 50 stations to specialist cleaning agencies
· CCTVs at stations will be used to monitor cleaning activities
· Severe action to be taken against vendors delivering unhygienic food, including cancellation of contracts
· Bio-toilets in trains to be increased to mitigate direct discharge of human waste on tracks and platform
· Severe action to be taken against vendors delivering unhygienic food, including cancellation of contracts
· Bio-toilets in trains to be increased to mitigate direct discharge of human waste on tracks and platform
· Ticket bookings through post offices and mobile phones will be popularized, also coin operated ticket
machines
· Contemplating setting up of a railway university, both technical and non-technical courses
· I propose Bullet trains, Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector has been identified
· Efforts will be made to increase speed of trains to 160-200, on select sectors
· I propose retiring rooms on all stations: Sadananda Gowda
· Indian Railways to set up food courts at major railway stations
· Railways to scale down market borrowings to Rs 11,790 crore
· Allocated Rs 100 crore For High- Speed Rail Network
· To Have Diamond Quadrilateral Network for High-speed Trains
· 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
· To allot Rs 1,780 Crore to eliminate unmanned level crossings
· To have Digital Reservation Charts at stations
· Will provide summer internships to undergraduate students from engineering background
· E-procurement will be made compulsory for purchase of 25 lakh and more
· Recent fare and tariff hike to mop additional revenue of about Rs 8,000 crore, says Rail Minister
· Resource mobilization through leveraging PSU resources, FDI and Public Private Participation
· Solar energy to be harnessed through PPP by utilizing rooftop spaces of stations and railway buildings
· Hospital Management Information System to integrate all railway health units and hospitals
· Ladies' coaches to be escorted by women RPF constables; additional care for ladies travelling alone
· 29 rail projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with Rs. 20,680 crores will be completed
· Bangalore to get suburban rails
· 27 express trains to be introduced, 5 new jan sadharan trains to be introduced
· Chaos in Parliament as Rail Minister ends his budget speech. Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm
Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Railway Budget presentation:
· PM Modi: This budget gives priority to transparency, integrity. Its growth engine for India, not a mere
passenger source
· This rail budget will become a huge power for the economy. Its about developing the nation through
development of railways: PM
· Railways have come up with initiatives which show where we want to take country, not just the railways.
· First time there is holistic railway budget of modern India. Railway cannot be run on an ad-hoc basis:
· Now in real terms this is a Bharatiya Railway. For a long time, the vision was broken, not unified. Now its
the 21st century budget : PM Modi

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