Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 25 February 2016 presented
the Railway Budget 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
said that this Budget owes inspiration to vision of PM Narendra Modi who said
‘My vision is to make railways backbone of India’s progress & economic
development’. Suresh Prabhu said that core objective is to become an engine of
employment generation and economic growth at national level.
India's first rail auto hub, boost to e-catering,
connectivity to North-East and no hike in passenger fares.
ü This is Mr. Prabhu's second rail budget.
Highlights of Railway Budget
ü No hike in passenger fares.
ü Action has been initiated on 139 budget announcements made
last year.
ü Eliminate all unmanned level crossings by 2020.
ü Swacch Bharat: 17000 biotoilets and additional toilets in
475 stations before the close of this financial year.
ü Increased quota for senior citizens and women travellers
this year.
ü Wifi at 100 stations this year and 400 stations next year.
ü Enhanced capacity of e-ticketing system from 2,000
tickets/min to 7,200/min. Supporting 1.2 lakh concurrent users now, as opposed
to 40,000 earlier.
ü All major stations to be brought under CCTV surveillance in
a phased manner.
ü Deen Dayal coaches for long distance trains for unreserved
passengers. These coaches will include potable water and higher number of
mobile charging points.
ü IRCTC to manage catering service in phased manner. Local
cuisine of choice will be made available to passengers.
ü Cleaning of toilets by requests through SMS.
ü Children's menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available
for travelling mothers.
ü GPS-based digital display in coaches for showing upcoming
stations.
ü Will open cancellation facility through 139 helpline number.
ü Introduce bar-coded tickets on pilot basis to tackle menace
of ticketless travel.
On new projects to be implemented this year:
ü Overnight double-decker trains to be introduced on business
travel routes.
ü 1,600 km of electrification this year and 2,000 km proposed
for the next year.
ü Broad Gauge Lumding-Silchar section in Assam, connecting
Barak Valley with rest of country.
ü North-East India, especially Mizoram and Manipur, to be
connected through broad gauge soon.
ü Special purpose vehicle for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed
corridor registered this month.
Source: The Hindu
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