Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi will be presenting his first Railway Budget in Parliament.
New trains
Railway Budget 2011-12 announced the introduction of 132 trains, extension of 33 and increase in frequency of 22 existing ones. Of these, till February, 115 new trains were introduced, 24 got extensions and the frequency of 19 has been increased.
World-class stations
Banerjee had announced 584 “adarsh” or world-class stations. Work has not started on any of these, though a beginning has been made with Ircon International and the Rail Land Development Authority signing a memorandum of understanding to set up a Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd, which would undertake redevelopment and maintenance of the stations. Bidding for these stations under the PPP mode can be initiated after a master plan and feasibility report is prepared and in-principle approval of local bodies is obtained, said a railway official.
Of the 160 multi-functional complexes promised in the past two budgets, not a single one is ready.
Staff
Despite having 1.4 million employees, the railways have a shortage of 175,000 staffers at the group C and D levels. These are all the vacancies of supervisors and staff in the safety category. The recruitment is scheduled to end by October.
A week ahead of his maiden budget on March 14, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Friday announced 26 new trains, extended runs of five existing trains, increased the frequency of two trains and introduced five new suburban trains, promised by his party boss Mamata Banerjee last year.
Though a high-level panel, headed by Atomic Energy Commission former chairman Anil Kakodkar, advised Trivedi not to announce any new trains in the Budget 2012-13 as it affects safety of the network, officials said Friday's announcement is part of the promise made in last year's railway budget presented by Mamata Banerjee.
The trains announced in the Railway Budget 2011-12 are implemented by the end of the financial year March 31, said an official statement, reports Business Standard.
Railways may see improvement in finances, a Business Line article says
A story from IANS says
Have to make railways solid like gold: Trivedi
Set to present his maiden budget in parliament , Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said it would keep in my mind the needs of the common man and the country.
“The budget is going to be very good for the country and the common man. I have to make sure that Indian Railways is solid like gold,” Mr. Trivedi told reporters before leaving Rail Bhavan for parliament.
“The railways are one of the most important infrastructure. Without the railways growing, India’s GDP cannot grow,” the minister added
Railway Budget
The Railway budget presented by the Union Minister for Railways, Mr. Jagjivan Ram, to the Lok Sabha on March 13, shows a net surplus of Rs.16.48 crores for the period of 1961-62. A surplus of Rs. 13.16 crores is shown in the budget estimate for 1962-63. As this is a "lame duck" session of Parliament, the budget does not include any proposals regarding fares or freights. The Minister gave a review of the performance of Indian Government Railways during the past year. A White Paper on the Railway budget for 1962-63 was placed on the table of the House.
487 approved projects at various levels of execution
Rs. 14 lakh crore required in the next 10 years
Proposal for Railway research and development authority
Rs. 60,100 crore annual plan outlay targeted
Propose to bring down operating ratio from 95 to 84.9 pc in 2012—13 and lower it to 74 pc by terminal year of 12th plan
Railway safety fund for 12th Plan will be Rs. 16,842 crore
Rail Road Grade Separation Corporation of India — to be set up for abolishing level crossings
Plan to modernise 19,000 km
Railways should contribute 2 percent of GDP from the present 1 percent
Introduction of new autocarsRs. 6467 crores to be spent on track modernisation
Gross budgetary support for Railways for 2012-13 Plan fixed at Rs. 24,000 crore
Modernisation of 19,000 km of railway tracks would cater to 80 per cent of traffic
Four new rail coach factories in Kerala
Indian Railways Stations Development Corp will redevelop stations and maintain them on pattern of airports.
New tracks on tribal areas
Propose completion of 45 new projects
Logistics Corporation will be created for providing logistics solutions for rail users
Rs. 4,400 crore for capacity augmentation
Increase number of double track container wagons
Proposal to get connect Agartala-Bangladesh which will increase bilateral ties, says Trivedi
31 projects of over 5,000 km being implemented with the support of state governments
Rae Bareily coach factory ready for rolling
Upgradation of 929 stations
Railways to take up linking of Agartala to Akura in Bangladesh
Allocate Rs. 1,112 crores for amenities.
Locomotive factive factory in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh
Express train fares up by 5 paise per km, 10 paise per km for AC chaircar, 10 paise per km for 3AC, 15 paise per km for 2AC, 30 paise per km for 1AC
Fare increase ranges from 2 paisa to 30 paise per km
Railways to carry 55 million tons more freight at 1025 million tonnes in 2012—13.
Passenger earnings to increase to Rs 36,200 crore. Gross traffic receipts Rs 1,32,552 crore
Fares increased across all classes
Finance Ministry agrees to loan Rs 3,000 crore to Railways at 8.55 per cent interest: Trivedi.
Platform tickets to cost Rs. 5
With that we conclude our live coverage of the Railway Budget 2012.
All Garib Rath trains to have one special AC coach for differently abled persons
Passenger amenities to be given Rs 1,112 crore in 2012—13 as against Rs 762 crore in current year.
Conversion from DC to AC power supply completed in Western Railway corridor of Mumbai suburban rail system; conversion of Central Railway corridor to be completed in 2012—13.
Elevated corridor from Churchgate to Virar in Mumbai being firmed up.
Guru Parikrama special trains in Amritsar-Patna-Nanded route
Propose to introduce 75 new express trains
With that we conclude our live coverage of the Railway Budget 2012.
