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Showing posts with label Railway Budget 2015. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Railway Budget 2015. Show all posts

Friday, 23 October 2015

16:27

Ministry of Railways included 77 doubling, 4 new line and 1 gauge conversion project in Railway Budget 2015-16.



Ministry of Railways included 77 doubling, 4 new line and 1 gauge conversion project in Railway Budget 2015-16.  

Railways Fast Tracks Implementation of Projects

The projects were included primarily with a viewpoint to create additional carrying capacity.  Fast tracking of these projects was need of the hour so as to reap benefits of the projects as soon as possible. Under direction of Minister of Railways Shri. Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, a number of measures have been under taken for expeditious execution of these projects:

(i) So far the practice was to include a project in railway budget and send for ‘In Principle Approval’ (IPA) of NITI Aayog, hold meetings of Extended Board of Railways and finally seek approval of Cabinet (CCEA).  Once Cabinet approval is available, Railways used to go for Final Location Survey and subsequent preparation of Detailed Estimate.  An expenditure can be incurred only after Detailed Estimate or part thereof has been sanctioned.  This process used to take 2-3 years, which means tenders can be called roughly after 2 years of inclusion in Railway Budget. 

(ii)To reduce this time gap of two years, Ministry Railways asked zonal railways to carry out Final Location Survey immediately after inclusion of the work in Railway Budget. After Final Location Survey, the zonal railways were asked to send Detailed Project Report (DPR) to Railway Board with a reasonably firm cost.  Out of 77 doubling projects sanctioned in this year, detailed project reports of 73 doubling projects has been prepared and received in Railway Board.

(iii)Examination and scrutiny of DPR in Railway Ministry has been fast tracked by forming committee of concerned officers for this purpose instead of examination from table to table by individual officer.   

(iv)Request for ‘In Principle Approval’ (IPA) of NITI Aayog is being sent after DPR is examined in Railway Board.  As many as 15 IPA have been received from NITI Aayog.  Out of these 15 IPAs, 4 projects which cost more than Rs.1000 cr. are being sent to CCEA for approval. 

(v)Zonal Railways have been advised to call tenders immediately after IPA is received.  However, a financial commitment can be made only after all requisite approvals are in place. 

(vi)To obviate delays further, Railways are now being advised to invite tenders immediately after a DPR is sent to NITI Aayog for IPA without waiting for approval.

(vii) This has effectively reduced tender calling period from 2 years after inclusion of a project in Pink Book to 6-9 months. 

(viii) In addition to this, zonal railways have been given more powers to sanction detailed estimates so as to reduce delays in such sanctions.

(ix)Power for accepting all tenders have now been delegated to zonal railways which results into overcoming delays on this account.

 Source:PIBNEWS.
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Sunday, 1 March 2015

10:56

Railway Budget 2015 - Hand Held Terminals to TTE's

Hand-held terminals to Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) for verification of passengers will now be provided for verification of passengers, possibility of extending facility of SMS on mobiles as a valid proof of travel for PRS tickets will be explored. A centrally managed Railway Display Network in over 2000 stations in next two years will be included besides  “SMS Alert” service to inform passengers in advance of the updated arrival/departure time of trains at starting or destination stations.
No hike in Railway Passenger Fares 

Plan Outlay proposed Rs. 1,00,011 crore, increased by 52% 

Allocation for passenger amenities up by 67% 

Railways to become prime mover of Indian Economy, Five years action plan proposed

Rail Budget seeks resource mobilization for higher investment

Thrust on measurable and sustainable improvement in passenger experience and to make Rail a safer means of travel

Hot buttons, coin vending machines for railway tickets within 5 minutes, e-catering to select meals from an array of choices

200 more stations to come under Adarsh Station scheme; Wi - Fi to be provided at B category stations

24X7 helplines for attending passenger problems and security related complaints

For the safety of women passengers surveillance cameras in suburban coaches

More General class coaches will be added in identified trains.

 
The speed of nine railway corridors will be increased to 160 and 200 kmph

Train Protection Warning System and Train Collision Avoidance System to be installed on select routes

77 new projects covering 9,400 km of doubling/tripling/quadrupling works proposed

A new department for keeping stations and trains clean under Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Abhiyan


Rail Budget has also proposed Coastal Connectivity Program in partnership with ports for Nargol, Chharra, Dighi, Rewas and Tuna. Besides this, projects worth Rs 2500 crore will be taken up through BOT/ Annuity route. These include Wardha- Nagpur 3rd line, Kazipet-Vijaywada 3rd line, Bhadrak –Nargundi 3rd line and Bhuj- Nalia Gauge Conversion.

As a part of its social initiatives, now Rail stations and training centers will be made available for skill development. Incredible Rail for Incredible India will be launched and training of auto-rickshaw and taxi-operators as tourist-guides on the model of Konkan Railway will be taken up for tourism promotion. IRCTC will work on promoting the Gandhi circuit to attract tourists to mark the occasion of 100 years of the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa. Kisan Yatra, a special travel scheme for farmers for farming & marketing technique centres has also been proposed.




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Thursday, 26 February 2015

15:44

Railway Budget Speech -- ‘re-birth of Indian Railways’,

New Delhi: Presenting his maiden Railway Budget, Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday said that Rs 8.5 lakh crore will be invested in Railways over 5 years.

Outlining his vision for Indian Railways, Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech talked about four main goals that PM Narendra Modi government will work on to get railways out of its abysmal state.

“We want to work on these four goals; to deliver a sustained improvement in customer experience; make railways a safer means of travel; modernise infrastructure of railways and expand capacity and finally make railways financially self-sustainable,” Prabhu ellaborated.

Stating that his government can ensure the ‘re-birth of Indian Railways’, Prabhu said, “I am convinced we can deliver. I believe we can ensure the rebirth of Indian Railways.”

“However, this cannot happen overnight,” Prabhu said. Prabhu said that chronic underinvestment has led to poor development of Indian Railways. Prabhu said that Railways can play a very important role in PM Narendra Modi’s ambition of eliminating poverty from the country.

“I thank people for giving me this opportunity. PM challenged us when he talked about the need for about poverty elimination,” Prabhu said. “This is an organisation that touches the heart of all Indians. Railways can play a prime role in PM’s dream of eliminating poverty from India.”

Ahead of his speech Suresh Prabhu presented a ‘white paper’ on Railways in Lok Sabha.

Ahead of the Railway Budget, Suresh Prabhu had said that it will signal the direction of long-term reforms needed to revamp the world’s fourth-largest rail network.

“The budget will set the direction of long and difficult road of reform,” Prabhu had said.

While announcing a slew of sops for passengers, including no hike in passenger fares, Prabhu said that the major focus was on ensuring ‘clean railways’.

Following Prime Minister Modi’s footsteps of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, Prabhu said that 17,000 toilets would be replaced by bio-toilets. “This year alone we intend to replace 17000 more toilets by bio-toilets,” he said. He added that his ministry aims to construct new toilets in 650 additional stations.

Regarding the linen available onboard trains he said, “We will increase number of mechanised laundry. Cleanliness of bed linen and laundry is key.” The Indian Railways has approached NIFT for new Linen designs.

The ministry plans to set up a special department called ‘Swach Rail’ which will exclusively look after the cleanliness of the Indian Railway.

Rs 6581 crore has also been alloted for safety in Indian railways.

Giving due importance to cleanliness Prabhu said, “Railways is your travelling home, please keep it clean.”

Chief among the other proposals is to offer SMS alert services to inform passengers of delay and departure timings for trains.

Such a facility will be particularly useful for citizens in North India when fog season means inevitable delays and cancellations. Nearly all important stations in North India such as Delhi, Lucknow, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Jaipur, etc end up facing train delays and cancellations due to fog, and in such a scenario a prior SMS alert system will help ensure that most don’t end up at the station only to find out that their train has been cancelled.

It remains to be seen how those who are not booking online and thus not giving their mobile number when reserving a ticket will get such alerts.

Another major announcement by Prabhu was that the government is developing a mobile application to address complaints of people with regard to railways. Such an application sounds like a great idea, given that the railways in India are woefully lacking in passenger amenities. It would have been more helpful if the Minister given details on how the app will help in dealing with the complaints.

The Minister also announced that charging facilities for mobile phones would be extended in all trains and stations. He added that the number of mobile phone charging points would be increased in general coaches as well. This will come as great news to most passengers, especially those who find themselves frequently commuting to different cities for work, since most users these days are dependent on their mobiles for work too.

In order to make ticketing more passenger friendly the Budget has also proposed “operation five minutes” for issuing unreserved tickets, hot buttons, coin vending machines, concessional e-tickets for differently abled travelers, for booking tickets a multi-lingual e-portal will be developed.

Crediting of refunds through banks and unreserved tickets on Smart phones will be available. Proliferation of automatic ticket vending machines with smart cards and currency options, integrated ticketing system on the lines of rail-cum-road tickets, Defence Travel System developed for elimination of Warrants have also been proposed in the Budget.

Another good-Internet linked initiative that was announced is that food can be ordered from the IRCTC website at the time of booking. The Minister said that, “E-catering has been introduced on some trains on experimental basis, depending on the response, it will be extended.”

He also announced that the government plans to create a a multilingual e-ticketing system which will be encouraging for those might not be comfortable in English.

With regard to WiFi, facilities will be provided at 400 stations including Category B stations. Recently the Delhi railway station got WiFi.

In Delhi, the WiFi is free of cost for an initial period of 30 minutes after which users are required to register for the same using their mobile phones. Beyond 30 minutes, users have to purchase scratch cards costing Rs 25 for 30 minutes and Rs 35 for an hour and valid for 24 hours. Users can buy them at Wi-Fi helpdesks on the concourse at the Paharganj and Ajmeri Gate sides of the railway station.
The Minister also proposed the development of an integrated customer portal for passengers to have ease of information and ticketing. The minister has also made a move towards encouraging paperless ticketing.

The initiatives, some of which promise mobile facility and as well as easier services via the Internet are much needed. They are also in-line with the Prime Minister’s recent remark at an e-governance conference where he said that, “While we look at e-Governance, let us think about ‘mobile first’ and thus give importance to m-Governance (mobile governance). I urge you to explore ways to provide as many services as possible through mobiles. Let us bring the world into our mobile phones!”

As we had noted earlier, India is all set to become the second largest smartphone market in the world, and we are currently second largest country in terms of numbers of mobile users (this includes feature and smartphones) in the world, thus e-governance cannot afford to overlook mobile first.  While facilities like Banking, Bill Pay, LPG cylinder payments, tax payments, and even checking passport status is available to smartphone users, those who can’t afford such devices should not be left out of the mobile governance revolution.

Hopefully the Railways will ensure that the regular users, the one who can’t afford smartphones but have a mobile are not left behind as it offers more mobile-based services.
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Tuesday, 24 February 2015

21:43

Andhra Pradesh keeps High Expectations on Railway Budget 2015

Post bifurcation of State, residual Andhra keeps High Expectations on Railway Budget 2015

Vijayawada (BZA): The reorganised state of AndhraPradesh has high expectations from the railway budget of Narendra Modi’s government, as the railway connectivity is vital for some of the ambitious plans of TDP government in the state for development of the state as logistic hub.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is very much keen on developing the state as port of call for the trade and commerce from South East Asian countries and railway connectivity from the proposed ports to the hinter-lands and rest of the state is essential for it to become as reality.

Separate Railway Zone to be named as South East Coast Railway for the state has been the foremost demand for the state and expectations are high from the Railway budget in that regard. However, sources in railways say that it is unlikely to materialise in the budget and the central government would only try to appease the state by promising to consider it in next railway budget. State Government is also expecting the state to provide a major share of budgetary allocation for the completion of the pending railway projects including doubling and new-lines in the state.

Some of those pending works include Vijayawada-Bheemavaram-Nidadavolu, Yerragunta-Nandyala-Jaggayyapet-Vishnupuram, Kakinada-Pithapuram. Though state-government had agreed during previous budgets to bear 50 percent of the costs for the development of Obulavaripalli-Krishnapatnam railway line for the doubling works for Guntur-Tenali, there has been not much progress till date. State government expects more funds allocated to those projects on priority basis.

The long pending Kadapa-Bangalore new railway line works ares not progressing as expected with no encouraging budgetary allocations since last couple of years, though the project was given green signal in 2008-09 railway budget. As far as doubling works are concerned, the works are under progress, but would require substantial funding for them to be put on fast track for earlier completion,’ a senior railway official told.

Andhra Pradesh has mainly two railway zones – South Central Railway (SCR) and East Coast Railways – operating in the state. Though there is a long standing demand for merger of Waltair division, currently under East Coast Railways with SCR, it has not be considered in any railway budgets till date. Now expectations are that a new zone would be created into which Waltair division will merge.

Though there has been a demand for Kotipalli- Narasapuram railway line, given the high cost, the proposal was set aside in the previous budget. People of Godavari districts are hoping it be considered this time. Another proposed new-line Srikalahasti-Nadikudi is still under survey. If it materialises, Rayalaseema and Andhra regions in the state will have a better railway connectivity and the pressure on the mainline between Nellore and Vijayawada will be decreased.

Though a wagon workshop in Khazipet was proposed, it had not materialised, neither did a medical college at Secunderabad in the last budget. Rail Neer project at Vijaywada was proposed and even 3 acres of land at Krishna canal was identified for the purpose, but the project was not given the sanction. Will it get the sanction this railway budget? people of the new capital region of the state hope so.

Development of Tirupati and Secunderabad as the world class railway stations proposed more than five years ago, though it was sanctioned, is yet to materialise. People of Tirupati, one of the most visited pilgrimage centres in the country, hope so.

In general, people of the state are expecting more compartments, which are convenient and safe, as the waiting list for almost all the trains either originating or passing through is always long now a days. Another issue they want resolved on priority is availability of quality food and water. In recent times there has been several complaints in regard to those two issues.
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07:22

Rail Budget likely to give green signal to less than 100 trains

New Delhi: With Railways reeling under a financial crunch, the number of new trains to be announced in the Rail Budget is unlikely to be more than 100, much less than what is the normal practice every year.

Rail Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, who is considered to be pro-reform, is unlikely to announce many rail projects despite demands from states as several unfinished works are already languishing over the years due to lack of funds.

It has been a popular practice of the Railways to announce launching of about 150 to 180 new trains in its budget every year. About 160 trains were announced last year.

According to sources, Prabhu may just take a different approach by not announcing too many new trains in his maiden budget speech and instead do it gradually over the course of the year.

“After weighing pros and cons of a radical proposal of not to announce any new train in the budget, it now seems that a revised proposal is being firmed up for going ahead with announcement of limited number of new trains,” they said.

There might also be a proposal to brand some of the trains in a move to generate additional funds.

As per the proposal, these trains will carry advertisements of some popular brands and may even be named on them such as the Coca Cola Express or Haldiram Express.

The Rail Budget is also likely to have proposal for more unreserved trains with general second class coaches such as the ‘Jan Sadharan Express’ on popular routes to facilitate travel for the common man. Besides some popular destinations will be connected with new service as tourist trains.

The Railway Budget will be presented in Parliament on February 26.

The Rail Budget 2015-16 might also have proposals for acquiring 20 train sets to run on some popular Rajdhani and Shatabdi routes.

Trains for Bihar, a political move considering the upcoming Assembly elections, and the northeast are also likely to be announced. Attempts are being made to maintain a
regional balance while announcing new trains for states including Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bengal and Gujarat.

Rail Budget 2015-16 is also likely to offer business proposals for redevelopment of busy stations under PPP model.

Prabhu might also focus on aspects related to passenger satisfaction which include cleanliness, catering, linen, ease of access to booking information and tickets.

There might also be an announcement to set up an interactive customer portal in order to get direct feedback from passengers.

Currently, the cross-subsidy for passenger service from freight earnings is touching about Rs 24,000 crore (Rs 240 billion) annually.

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Monday, 23 February 2015

07:09

NFIR Proposes for consideration in the Rail Budget 2015-16

NFIR Proposes for consideration in the Rail Budget 2015-16

National Federation of Indian Railway men(NFIR) proposes for consideration in the Rail Budget 2015-16 as Safety - Report of High Level Safety Review Committee headed by Dr. Anil Kakodkar.

The Hon’ble Railway Minister may kindly consider the report of HLSRC headed by Dr.Anil Kakodkar for taking decisions as mentioned below:

a) The powers of General Managers and DRMs need to be enhanced to three times for sanction of Works. M&P items including out of turn basis works.
b) Adequate funds may be allotted for augmentation of line capacity, enhancement of through out for speedy movement of freight and passenger carrying trains.
c) New trains should only be announced when adequate capacity of maintenance, platforms and staff i.e.Loco/Traffic crew, ticketing checking, AC and C&W are made available.
d) Recruitment policy needs review for ensuring manning of all posts in general and safety posts in particular in consultation with the Federations as the present system has proved to be counter-productive and thousands of vacancies remained unfilled in safety categories.
e) Adequate funds should be allotted to Zonal and Divisional training institutes for imparting quality training/re-fresher courses.
f) Training Allowance equal to 30% of Pay to Trainers in all training institutes as already agreed to should be sanctioned duly securing approval of the Government.

2. Duty Hours of Staff — (Report of the High Power Committee (R&S) headed by Sh D.P.Tripathi)

Hon’ble Railway Minister is requested to consider the report of the High Power Committee(R&S) and announce decision on the following.
(a) Running staff should be served fully subsidized meals and eatables timely as per the system in vogue in the past.
(b) Duty hours of safety category staff presently classified as “Essentially Intermittent”, more particularly Gate Keepers should be reduced to 48 hours per week.
(c) Running Rooms should be upgraded to 3-Star level to facilitate running staff to avail adequate rest.
(d) Special sanction may be accorded for the construction of ne Running Room at Mumbai Central (Western Railway) as per the proposal sent by General Manager/Western Railway.
(e) For ensuring safety as well saving the lives of Track Maintainers. Advance Warning System for alerting the staff while working on tracks, be introduced.

3. Improvement of efficiency in Railway:

a) Unviable railway projects may be shelved and those projects where expected rate of return is about 23% be sanctioned for execution.
b) A policy decision may be taken that the cost of construction and maintenance of new hues should be shared by the respective State Governments.
c) Priority be given for provision of additional platforms to avoid detention to trains at signalise.
d) Ticket fares may be hiked in view of increase in costs of electricity, diesel, raw material etc.
e) Payment of dividend to the Central Government need to be dispensed with as no other infrastructure ministry is paying the same. This amount can be diverted for developmental activities on the Indian Railways.
f) As decided by the Hon’ble MR in the meeting held on 18th December 2014 with both the Employees’
Federations, a Standing Committee to be chaired by CR13/Member Staff may be constituted to discuss all pending issues of railway employees besides issues relating to Railways efficiency, productivity and future plans.
g) Bed rolls supply and AC staff escorting trains:
In view of safety and security of travelling public and also to prevent untoward incidents on running trains, the supply of bed rolls should be entrusted to the Coach Attendants while running maintenance of AC coaches needs to be done departmentally. The out sourcing of these activities has jeopardised the safety of the system as well the travelling public.
A policy announcement may be made for ensuring bed roll supply and AC coaches maintenance/attendance on running trains done departmentally.

4. Induction of skills in Railways
(a)Course completed Act Apprentices may be inducted on completion of training against Safety and Technical
(b)Staff working in Quasi-Administrative Units/Offices may be absorbed in GP Rs.1800 (PB-I) against vacancies in terms of policy laid down in 1973 and 1997 alert consultation with the Federations, The old policy needs to be restored. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that this subject has been discussed in the DC/JCM forum by the Federations with no finality yet.
(c)The superannuation age of Railway Doctors needs to be extended to 62 years for meeting the present and future shortage in order to provide proper health care facility to railway employees and their families. Hon’ble MR may take the matter to Union Cabinet.

5.Staff Welfare:

a)Railways may be exempted from New Pension Scheme. The proposal to this effect sent by Hon’ble MR on 29th March 2014 may be got approved by the Union Government. Hon’ble MR may consider making the announcement
b)Adequate funds should be allotted for construction of new Railway Quarters as well as satisfactory maintenance of existing Railway Quarters & Colonies
c)Each Zonal Railway may be permitted to construct/removate at least 6 Railway Institutes/Community Halls — Adequate funds may be allotted for the said purpose
d)At Tirupati (South Central Railway) a community hall of one thousand people capacity may be sanctioned,
e)At Tirupati and Tirumala, best Holiday Homes have been provided for Officers whereas for staff the Holiday Home is of sub-standard. This needs improvement on priority basis.
f)Separate Rest Rooms may be constructed for women Railway employees at Head Quarters(Zonal & Division) as well at important and major stations,
g)There is strong demand from railway employees working in the Diesel Shed at Krishrmarajapurarn (Hengalurti)
South Western Railway for provision of a Health Unit. Adequate justification exists for sanctioning Health Unit to take care of medical needs of Railway employees (serving & retired) and their families. This may be sanctioned.
h) Powers for recognising corporate hospitals for referral purposes should be delegated to the GMs in view of the fact that the present system is causing abnormal delays.
j) Grant of compassionate appointment to the widows/wards of deceased employees of IRCA, Indian Railways Conference Association (IRCA) is Railway Organisation working under the control of the Railway Board. The General Manager/Northern Railway is the President of IRCA and has been looking after the affairs of the Organisation with tile Support of a JAGISG Grade Railway Officers etc. for effective functioning of the organization, The payment of salary, pension etc to the officers and staff of the Organization is arranged by the Northern Railway. 

The Officers/Staff of IRCA are provided for Railway passes and other privileges similar to Railway staff and are Railway Over the past few years a few employees of IRCA have expired. Their widows/wards have been put to severe hardship due to non-grant of compassionate appointment. Federation has brought these cases to the notice of Railway Board a number of times but positive instructions on the issue have not been issued so far and the bereaved families have been suffering for want of livelihood.

NFIR requests to approve compassionate appointment to the widows/wards of deceased IRCA staff:
j) Provision of Mobile Medical Vans at roadside stations and in remote places:
Railway employees performing duties at remote locations and at places where Railway Health Units are not available, have been facing difficulties for getting medical treatment for them and their family members. Trials carried out for providing medical assistance through Mobile Medical Vans have been proved successful. hence,more Mobile Medical Vans need to be provided for providing adequate medical assistance to the Staff’ working at road side stations and remote places.
k) Free medical treatment to the dependent parents of the Railway employees (serving & retired).

NFIR is confident that the proposals listed above will be considered by the Hon’ble MR through the Rail Budget 2015-16 to be presented on the floor of the Parliament.
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Thursday, 19 February 2015

23:26

Railway Budget 2015: Expectations From The BJP Government


Railway Budget 2015: Expectations From The BJP Government


The expectations from the 2015 Railway Budget are high, and so are the stakes. This could be another yardstick to measure the BJP government’s capability to initiate and implement reforms. All eyes will be on Suresh Prabhu, who will present his first ever budget as the Railway Minister of India on 26 February. There were a handful of reasons why rail budget of 2014 had struck the chord with the common man. Besides refraining from increasing fares, the budget had given due emphasis on high-speed trains and expanding the capacity of online booking of tickets.

What to Expect from 2015 Railway Budget?

1. The government is likely to announce building of coaches that are capable of running at 200 km per hour. These coaches will be manufactured in India, in accordance with the ‘Make in India’ programme launched by PM Narendra Modi. As of now, the maximum speed that can be achieved by coaches is 160 km per hour.

2. The 2015 Railway Budget is likely to propose AC rakes in trains that provide intercity services. The objective is to heighten the comfort quotient for the passengers. A prototypical rake is supposed to be made with 20 coaches that can run at speeds of 200 km per hour.

3. The Railways Ministry is expected to play a major role in furthering the success of ‘Make in India’ initiative. In all probability, the ministry will announce its decision to manufacture locomotive parts such as cranks shaft, forged wheels and alternators in India instead of procuring them from abroad.

4. Improving the financial health of the railways is high on the Union Minister’s agenda. Attention is also likely to be given on improving services offered to passengers. The ministry is likely to introduce Braille signages in all the new coaches so that the visually challenged passengers find it less cumbersome to locate coaches on their own.

5. Satisfaction of the passengers will likely to be the focal point of 2015 Railway Budget. On this note, the ministry will propose to include AC facility in the DEMU or diesel electrical multiple unit trains.

6. Prabhu will also propose reduction of noise levels in diesel locomotive cabs. As a part of the government’s plan to bring Northeast at par with other parts of the country, the railway ministry is likely to propose DEMU services in the northeastern states so that rail connectivity in the region can improve significantly.

7. It is also expected that the new rail budget will enable the establishment of manufacturing facilities, which will be at par with the very best in the world. This year’s budget might also focus on areas such as extended use of automation and technology so that manpower can be reduced.

8. The 2015-16 Railway Budget will also touch upon the need to improve the quality control systems in place at the railway workshops and factories. Of late, top-notch trains have been introduced with an aim of filling up the coffers of the railway ministry. For these trains, the ministry will try to give a facelift to the interiors of the coaches in order to provide the passengers with better travelling experience.

9. The new measures on the anvil include redesigning toilets to make them better from the users’ perspective. The National Institute of Design is likely to be associated with this project.

10. Presently, majority of non air-conditioned coaches do not have dustbins. The ministry is likely to extend onboard housekeeping services to 100 more trains and more bio-toilets will be installed at various stations and trains. All these proposals will be in accordance with the Swachh Bharat campaign initiated by Narendra Modi. The Clean Train Station Scheme will expand its ambit to cover six more stations.

11.Cancelled tatkal tickets should provide some refund Passengers who wish to cancel Tatkal tickets don't get any refund; hence they don't feel to cancel the ticket in case of any change in programme.

12.Different berth different price Lower berth provides maximum comfort during the journey & side upper berths provide the least comfort. Every passenger whether young or old, first tries to book lower berth which results in a situation that the actual passenger who needs lower berth doesn't even get it. Railways should introduce a system by which lower berths to charge some additional amount & Side upper to charge respectively less.
Providing some refund against confirmed tatkal tickets when cancelled, will encourage passengers to cancel their tatkal tickets in case of any change in program, making way for needy waitlisted tatkal passengers.

13.Emphasis to provide better quality food Emphasis on improving the quality of food during the journey should be made. With the changing situation, passengers can even pay little extra in order to get better quality food.

14.Some scheme should be introduced for frequent travelers as it was available in past.

It is only expected that the upcoming rail budget will take things forward. Although PM has stated that foreign entities will be involved in the process of revamping one of the largest PSUs in the country, nothing much has happened on this front. The upcoming railway budget is likely to create pathways to enable international agencies to collaborate with their Indian counterparts and improve things.
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Saturday, 14 February 2015

22:28

Why is the railway budget always presented different from the regular budget?

Why is the railway budget always presented different from the regular budget?

Why did the British do so, why did they feel that the railway budget is to be different from the regular budget?

Why is the railway budget always presented different from the regular budget?

New Delhi: Modi Government is about to present the railway budget on 26th February. Like railways, the railway budget also has a special importance within itself. The history of presenting the same has its origin from before independence. Actually, the declaration of separately presenting the railway budget was done during the British reign. Moreover, in the general budget meeting, the railway receipts and expenditures are only being discussed. Let us now look into the history of railway budget and certain related facts. 

Earlier the railway and general budget were presented together. Why was the railway budget presented separately after the Government Departmental undertaking? To know this, we are supposed to be aware of the beginning of the Indian Budgeting system. Before year 1859, during the British rule, there was nothing called ‘Budget’ in India. In this year, British Viceroy Lord Conning appointed James Wilson as a member of his finance committee. Under Wilson’s initiative, in 1860 the budget was presented in the Viceroy’s council for the first time. This budget also contained details on the railways. For this reason, James Wilson is called as the father of our Indian Budgeting system. A separate budget for railways was first presented in the year 1924. In 1921, the chairman of the East India Railway Committee Mr William Acworh noticed that the entire Railway system wanted a better management. In 1924, he proposed that the Railway budget is to be separated from the normal budget. For this, in 1920-21 a ten man committee was formed. This committee was formed under the leadership of British economist William M 

Acworth. The Acworth committee suggested that the Railway budget is to be presented separate from the normal budget. It was reasoned that, the Railway department as a separate entity was hosting a number of economic activities. In 1924, the share of the Railway budget was 70 percent of the total budget. Considering the budget of 1924, the railway budget comprised around 70 percent share of the total budget. Noticing the large share of the Railway budget in the National budget, the proposal of William to separate the Railway budget from the National budget was accepted. Since then till date, the railway budget has been presented separate from the general budget. When the Railway budget was separated from the normal budget, the utilisation of Railways comprised 75 percent of the public transport and 90 percent of Freight transportation.

Source: www.govemployees.in

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Wednesday, 11 February 2015

07:39

Railway Budget 2015- Suggestions from the public to help

Railways gets 16,000 suggestions online
A first-time move to invite suggestions online from the public in the run-up to the Rail Budget has landed the Indian Railways with over 16,000 suggestions — ranging from the interesting, to the curious, to some that are downright bizarre.

One person has asked the Railways to consider having a RFD-based push-button system on tickets which will connect passengers to the Railway Protection Force personnel on the train or the nearest railway station. “We got back this to this person to get more clarity. We asked him whether this kind of a system was available anywhere in the world and how he thought the Railways could go about it. He couldn’t enlighten us further and sought some time to get back. We have been waiting for him since,” a senior Rail Bhavan official said.

In a bizarre suggestion, a person has asked Railways to post “well-educated and good-looking employees” at the Munabao railway station (from where the Thar Express to-and-from Pakistan operates) “so as to appear superior to Pakistanis”. The person also suggested that since the land between Munabao and Barmer stations is arid and dry, tree plantation on both sides of the railway line should be done “so that first impression about Indian land may fall good” on passengers coming from Pakistan.

a review Another odd suggestion is one that asked Railways to consider engaging “a few nurses” in select trains who can help passengers dealing with “lifestyle diseases”.

Another person suggested that fans can be fitted atop coaches so they rotate with the wind when the train is running. “These can be connected to turbines and generate electricity”, which can be used inside the coaches. A similar suggestion wants railways to try using solar panels atop coaches. A pilot project for this is already undergoing in the Kalka-Shimla Railway.

There are also a host of suggestions that appear to have caught the officials’ eye and may find their way either in the upcoming Rail Budget or get introduced at some a stage.

One of the suggestions which the Railways may introduce soon relates to replacing the “Your Attention Please” announcement with “You are welcome on (station name)”. “The person who made the suggestion argued that many times, passengers inside coaches are unable to figure out the name of the station where their train has halted. We think it’s actually a great idea with no cost involved. It may get implemented soon,” a railway official said. Also, a suggestion to have an auto-lock system for toilet doors when the train is halted on stations appears to have raised some interest. It also envisages playing a recorded message in coaches warning passengers to vacate toilets when the train is heading for a station.

Senior officials have been directed to pursue the suggestions which they think are promising and many of the senders have been contacted for follow-up action by the officials
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Sunday, 8 February 2015

22:32

Indian Railways build coaches to run at a 200 km speed

Rail Budget 2015: Railways to build 200-kmph train coaches indigenously

NEW DELHI: The Railways will build coaches to run at a 200-km per hour speed at its Chennai facility in keeping with the Modi government's 'Make in India' initiative.

Introduction of AC rakes in the inter-city services to make the journey more comfortable will also be proposed in the Rail Budget 2015-16.

As per this year's Rail Budget proposal, it will manufacture a prototype rake consisting of 20 coaches for the 200-km per hour speed train at its Chennai coach factory.

Read more at: Economic Times

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00:18

Railway Budget 2015 – No proposals to hike rail fares

Railway Budget 2015 – No proposals to hike rail fares

Railway Budget 2015 – No proposals to hike rail fares, this has been stated in by Minister of State Shri Manoj Sinha...

Railway Budget 2015: No proposal to hike rail fares, says MoS for Railways Manoj Sinha

LUCKNOW: Ahead of the presentation of the Rail Budget in Parliament, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha today said there was no proposal at present to increase rail fares.

Speaking on the sidelines of a function to flag off the tri-weekly Lucknow-Kathgodam Express, he said it was not right to discuss the rail budget in advance.

"The rail budget will be discussed in Parliament.It is not right to discuss it in advance," he told r .. 

Read more at: Economic Times

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