Railway Budget 2014-15

Union Minister for Railways D V Sadananda Gowda presented his maiden Budget on Tuesday, highlighting the government's ambitious plans.

Here are the highlights:

• Grateful to honourable PM Narendra Modi ji for having given me this opportunity and for entrusting me with this responsibility
• I can get claps from this house by announcing many new projects but that would be rendering injustice to the struggling organization
• The fare revision was tough but a necessary decision - it will bring Indian Railways an additional revenue of 8,000 crores

Increased Funds to Ensure Passenger Amenities and Cleanliness:

• Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom
• It gives me immense pleasure to present my first Railway Budget flooded with suggestion for new trains, new railway lines
• We now target to become the 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
• 5 lakh crore required each year for the next ten years for ongoing projects alone
• 23 paisa lost per passenger per km in 2012-13
• Social obligation of Railways in 2013-14 was Rs. 20,000 crore
• Focus on sanctioning projects rather than completing them
• The more projects we add the thinner we spread our resources
• Indian Railways carries more than the entire population of Australia in a day
• Populist projects and mismanagement have brought Railways to point of funds crunch
• This state of affairs in railways needs immediate course correction
• Gross traffic receipts in 2013-14 was Rs. 1.3 lakh crore, operating ratio was 94 per cent
• Indian Railways spent Rs. 41,000 crore on laying of 3,700 km of new lines in last 10 years
• Need to explore alternative sources of resource mobilisation and not depend on fare hike alone
• Large part of the budget outlay to go to safety projects
• Maximum financial outlays for projects slated for completion in this area itself
• High priority areas - safety, cleanliness, passenger amenities and capacity augmentation
• Future projects to be financed on public-private partnership model
• Plans to attract investment from domestic and foreign players in infrastructure; focus to be on aggressive indigenisation
• FY15 Total Expenditure Pegged At Rs.1.49 lakh crore
• FY15 total receipts pegged at Rs.1.64  lakh crore
• Propose to hike budgetary plan outlay to Rs.47,650 crore
• FY15 passenger fare revenue pegged at Rs.44,600 crore
• Pre-cooked meals by reputed brands, focus on cleanliness and passenger feedback
• Outsource cleaning activities at 50 major stations, separate housekeeping wing for cleanliness and sanitation
• CCTVs to be used for monitoring cleanliness
• RO Drinking water at stations and trains
• Corporates encouraged to adopt stations for better maintenance and upkeep

Safety for Women Passengers:

• 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

Bullet train:

• Indian Railways on course to fulfill its long cherished dream. I propose a Bullet train on the Ahmedabad - Mumbai sector
• Higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by upgrading the present networks

Reservation system will be revamped:

• Railways to scale down market borrowings to Rs. 11,790 crore
• Reservation system will be revamped and ticket-booking through mobile phones and post offices popularised
• Wi-fi Services in all A Category stations and trains
• To Have Diamond Quadrilateral Network for High-speed Trains
• Digital Reservation Charts at stations

• Parcel traffic separated to requisite terminals, dedicated trains running on fixed timetable
• New design of parcel vans -- measures taken in order to improve earnings from the parcel system
• Special initiatives via the PPP mode for transport of fruits and vegetables and milk
• Bio-diesel upto 5% to be used in diesel locomotives 
• 23 projects underway in North-East. Propose to allocate higher funds than previous year for these projects
• Future e-Ticketing to support 7200 tickets per minute and to allow 1.2 lakh simultaneous users
• Dedicated freight corridor projects will be closely monitored 
• Experimental stoppages to be reviewed solely on the basis of feasibility and viability after 3 months
• Government to make e-procurement compulsory for procurements over Rs. 25 lakh
• GIS Mapping and digitisation of Railway Land
• 18 new line surveys, 10 surveys for doubling 3rd and 4th lines and gauge conversion.
• Office-on-Wheels; internet and workstation facilities on select trains.
• Setting up of logistic parks, private freight terminals on PPP model
• Connectivity to ports through PPP, procurement of parcel vans and rakes by private parties for resource augmentation
• Will offer wifi-services in all 'A' category trains and A1 stations.
• To have digital reservation charts at stations.
• Working on making railway offices paperless in five years
• e-Ticketing through mobile phones will be popularized.