Railway Minister Pawan Bansal has announced the Union Railway Budget for 2013-14 in Parliament. Here are the highlights:
· No increase in passenger fares
· Railways will absorb Rs. 850 crore on account of no hike in passenger fare
· Marginal increase in reservation charges, cancellation charges
· Supplementary charges for superfast trains and tatkal booking
· 26 new passenger trains to be launched
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· 67 express trains to be launched
· 9 Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains to be introduced
· 500-km new lines to be completed in 2013-14
· Concessional fare for sportspersons
· 5 per cent average increase in freight
· Diesel price hike added Rs. 3,300 crore to fuel bill of Railways
· Railways hopes to end 2013-14 with a balance of Rs. 12,506 crore
· 5.2 per cent growth in passenger traffic expected in 2013-14
· Railways' freight loading traffic scaled down by 100 million tonnes from 1025 million tonnes because of economic slowdown
· Railways to set up a Debt Service Fund
· Rs. 3,000 crore loan from Finance Ministry re-paid with interest by Railways this financial year
· New coach manufacturing and maintenance facilities to be set up in various places including Rae Bareli, Bhilwara, Sonepat, Kalahandi, Kolar, Palakkad and Pratapgarh
· Five fellowships to be announced to motivate students
· Centralised training institute to be set up in Secunderabad
· Will provide better living conditions for Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel
· Seek to fill 1.52 lakh vacancies in railways this year. 47,000 vacancies for weaker sections and physically challenged to be filled up soon
· Target of Rs. 4,000 crore for railway production units in 2014
· Trying to connect Manipur through railways
· Investment of Rs. 3800 crore for port connectivity projects
· Target of Rs. 1000 crore each for Indian Railways Land Development Authority and Indian Railways Station Development authority
· Toll free 1800111321 number to address grievance. Introduced from February 2013
· Labs to test food provided in trains. ISO certification for all rail kitchens
· Advance fraud control will be used for ticket sale
· Induction of e-ticketing through mobile phones, SMS alerts to passengers
· Next-generation e-ticketing system to improve end user experience. The system will support 7200 users per minute
· Wheelchairs and escalators to be made to make stations and trains friendlier for the differently-abled.
· Rs. 100 crore to be spent to augment facilities at Delhi, New Delhi and Nizamuddin railway stations
· Special attention to stations in NCR.
· Free wi-fi facilities in select trains. 60 more 'adarsh' stations
· Safety measures including new coaches with anti-climb features to be brought in
· More ladies specials in metros and a helpline number to be implemented
· Railways meets need of consumers while adhering to sound economic principles. Need to expand at a much faster growth rate
· I am committed to improving passenger amenities
· Resource crunch cannot be a reason for substandard services
· Elimination of over 10,000 level crossings
· 17 bridges sanctioned for rehabilitation
· Enhancement of the track capacity and the Train Protection Warning System (TPWS)
· Indigenously developed collision avoidance system to be put to trial
· Induction of self-propelled accident relief trains along with fast and reliable disaster management system
· Railway passengers deserve safe and comfortable travel. Safety is a mandate in running trains. There has been a significant reduction in accidents - .41 per million kms in 2003-04 to .13 in 2011- 12. We will strive to work towards a zero accident situation.
· Our targets need to be higher
· Mounting scarcity of resources, thin spread of funds continue to be a problem
· The number of passenger trains has increased from 8000 in 2001 to over 12000 in 2012 - yet losses continue to mount. It is estimated to be Rs. 24,000 cr in 2012-13
· Indian railways must remain financially viable
· Indian Railways plays an unparalleled growth in integrating the nation
· I thank Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi and I pay homage to Rajiv Gandhi ji who introduced me to politics
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