Presenting the Interim Rail Budget 2014 in Parliament on Wednesday, Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge announced that 73 new trains would be introduced.
The Railway Minister has however kept both the passenger as well as the freight fares unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Railway Budget presentation was cut short as Parliament was adjourned till 2pm due to interruptions caused by MPs protesting creation of Telangana. Four Union ministers from Seemandhra had stormed into well of the House along with other members over Telangana.
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MPs had initially also stalled presentation of the Rail Budget to highlight their cause.
Rail Budget 2014 Highlights
Passenger fares to remain unchanged
Freight fares too will remain unchanged
New Services/ New Trains
17 Premium trains
38 Express trains
10 Passenger trains
4 MEMU
3 DEMU
High Speed Trains
Joint feasibility study by India and Japan for Mumbai – Ahmedabad Corridor to be co-financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency
Business Development Study by SNCF for Mumbai – Ahmedabad corridor
Semi- High Speed Projects
Exploring low cost option of speeds 160- 200 kmph on select routes
Revenue Freight Traffic
Loading target of 1047 Million Tonnes for 2013-14 would be surpassed
Empty Flow Discount Scheme to be implemented
Carrying Capacity + 9 tonne + 1 tonne routes being planned
Easing of some restrictions on movement of imported commodities through Containers
Carrying capacity of 20 feet containers increased by 4 tonnes
Parcel Terminals & Special Parcel Trains with scheduled timings
New policy on parcels to encourage transportation of milk
New concept of ‘hub and spoke’ for parcel business
Third party warehousing in Special Parcel Terminals envisaged
Extension and Increase in frequency
3 Extension of trains
3 increase in frequency
Achievements / Initiatives
Major landmark achievement in National Project of Kashmir – Kanyakumari
State of Meghalaya and capital of Arunachal Pradesh to be on Railway Map by this fiscal
Gauge Conversion of strategically important 510 km Rangiya – Murkongselek line in Assam to be completed by this fiscal
XIth Five Year Plan Targets exceeded in New Lines (2,207 km) , Doubling (2,758 km) and Electrification (4,556 km), Production of Diesel (1,288) & Electrical (1,218) Locos and Acquisition of Wagons (64,875)
Dedicated Freight Corridors on the Eastern and Western Routes – leading to strategically critical capacity augmentation
Railways met from its own means the total additional impact of Rs one lakh crore due to implementation of 6th Pay Commission
In 2013-14, 1532 km of New Lines, Doubling and Gauge Conversion commissioned
Production commenced at the new factories – Rail Wheel Plant, Chhapra ; Rail Coach Factory, Rae Bareli ; and Diesel Component Factory, Dankuni
Specially designed coaches for adverse weather condition for rail travel in Kashmir
Successful development of Corrosion resistant, lighter wagons with higher pay-load and speed potential upt 100kmph
Railways sportspersons dominate national events by winning titles in 23 disciplines and runners up in 9 disciplines. In various international championships a total of 2 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze Medals won
Unigauge Policy started in 1992 has converted 19,214 km to Broad Gauge, benefitting several States including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Tamil Nadu
Measures for improving Safety & Security
No unmanned Level Crossing. A total of 5,400 unmanned level crossings eleiminated – 2,310 by manning it and 3,090 by closure / merger / construction of ROBs or RUBs
Improved audio – visual warning to road users in advance of approaching trains
Induction of indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System
Development of ‘crashworthy’ coaches
In last five years, offering employment to over one lakh persons in Group C categories and to 1.6 lakh persons in erstwhile Group D categories
Provision of Vigilance Control Device in all locomotives
Various measures to prevent fire incidents on trains
Fire retardant materials
Multi-tier protection for electric circuits
Portable fire extinguishers in coaches
Induction based cooking to replace LPG in pantry cars
Intensive checks against explosives and inflammable materials
Financial Health
Rail infrastructure by cost sharing arrangement with State Governments; Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana agreed to several projects
Several Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects are in the pipeline
FDI being enabled to foster creation of world-class rail infrastructure
Rail Land Development Authority raised Rs 937 crore so far
Modernisation and Technology Induction
Green Initiatives
Railway Energy Management Company becomes functional. Windmill and solar power plants to be set up with 40% subsidy from Ministry of New & Renewable Energy
200 Stations, rooftops of 26 buildings and 2,000 level crossing gates to be covered
Railways bagged 22 out of 112 awards given by the Government
‘Green Curtains’ along the track close to major stations; Pilot work at Agra and Jaipur
Coverage of Bio-toilets in 2,500 coaches and would be increased progressively
Passenger Friendly Initiatives
Overwhelming public response to e-booking of ticket
On-line tracking of exact location and running of train movements
51 Jan-Ahaar outlets for Janta Meals ; 48 passenger escalators commisionsed at stations and 61 more being installed ; air-conditioned EMU services in Mumbai from July 2014 ; information display system in important trains to indicate stations & arrival time
‘Upgradation’ scheme extended to AC Chair Car and Executive Chair car passengers
Demand Management through Dynamic Pricing
Premium AC Special train introduced in Delhi – Mumbai Sector with shorter advance reservation period and dynamically varying premium over tatkal fare
Enhancing Market Share
Clearing missing links in Carrying Capacity + 8 tonne routes; freight train speeding ; upgradation of rolling stock ; increasing length of trains ; tariff and incentive schemes to encourage traffic to rail and minimizing empty running
Rail Tariff Authority
Independent Rail Tariff Authority set-up to advise on fixing of fares and freight, to engage all stake-holders
Information Technology
Initiatives taken include – proliferation of cash accepting Automatic Ticket Vending Machines ; ticketing on mobile phones in unreserved segments ; system update on PNR status; online booking of retiring rooms at important stations ; online booking of meals for selected en-route stations ; introduction of e-forwarding note and electronic transmission of railway receipts for freight customers
Financial Performance 2012-13
Loading of 1,008 Million Tonnes surpassed the R.E. target of 1,007 Million Tonnes
Paid full dividend Rs 5,389 crore to General Exchequer
90.2% Operating Ratio in 2012-13
Repayment in full with interest of Rs 3,000 crore loan from the Government
Railway Fund Balances of Rs 2,391 crore
Financial Performance 2013-14
Loading Target raised to 1,052 Million Tonne from B.E. 1,047 Million Tonne
Freight Earnings Target revised to Rs 94,000 crore from B.E. Rs 93,554 crore
Stringent Financial control exercised and Ordinary Working Expenses pegged only at Rs 560 crore higher than Budget Estimates, despite various post-budgetary factors
Plan Outlay revised to Rs 59,359 crore
Operating Ratio likely to be 90.8%
Fund Balances to continue to grow to Rs 8,018 crore
Budget Estimates 2014-15
Loading target of 1,101 Million Tonnes
Gross Traffic Receipts targeted at Rs 1,60,775 crore with Passenger Earnings (Rs 45,255 crore), Goods (Rs 1,05,770 crore), Other Coaching & Sundry Earnings (Rs 9,700 crore)
Ordinary Working Expenses placed at Rs 1,10,649 crore, higher by Rs 13,589 crore
Pension Outgo budgeted at Rs 27,000 crore against Rs 24,000 crore for 2013-14
The entire Dividend of Rs 9,117 crore to General Exchquer will be paid
Fund Balances likely to be Rs 12,728 crore
Operating Ratio budgeted at 89.8%
Annual Plan 2014-15
Annual Plan envisaged at Rs 64,305 crore with a Budgetary Support of Rs 30,223 crore , Internal Resources of Rs 10,418 crore and Extra Budgetary Resources of Rs 19,805 crore
New Surveys : 19 New Lines & 5 Doubling