Agencies, New Delhi Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in the Railway Budget for 2013-14 today proposed no passenger fare hike but carried out rationalisation of freight charges, introduced 67 new trains, enhanced safety measures in the Railways besides making announcements in passenger amenities and more trains to religious places.
In his maiden budget presented to Lok Sabha, Mr Bansal said “I don’t intend to pass on the additional burden (of increase in diesel and petrol prices) to passengers, and Railways will absorb the impact of Rs 850 crore on this account.” Asserting that the UPA Government was sensitive to the needs of the people, Mr Bansal said the Railways carried out some revision in fares from January 23, 2013. The revision is expected to realise an additional Rs 6,600 crore during the fiscal. The Minister focused on projects under Public Private Partnership and scaled down target for new lines besides putting some of the ongoing projects on fast track to achieve realistic progress and avoid delays.
He proposed a marginal increase in supplementary charges for Super Fast trains, Reservation Fee Clerkage charges, Cancellation charges and Tatkal charges. The Minister abolished Enhanced Reservation fee. The Budget proposed setting up of Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority, Fuel Adjustment Component, linked revision for freight tariff to be implemented from April 1, 2013. The Railway Minister proposed a new next generation E-Ticketing system capable of handling 7,200 tickets a minute compared to 2000 now and 1.2 lakh users simultaneously as against the capacity of 40,000 at present.
Stressing that the Railways must remain financially sustainable to enable it to plough the surplus back for efficient upkeep, operation and maintenance of the system for the benefit of users, Mr Bansal said the business, freight and passenger needs shouild be based on sound economic principles and provide value for money to the consumers. He justified the recent hike in the passenger fares saying that the transport sector always had not conformed to the principles of financial sustainabliity. Mr Bansal said that the mounting scarcity of resources stared in the face and the spread of funds had only compounded the problem. Many projects due to debottleneck and decongesting the Railways network were not getting funded in a time bound manner. Touching upon the recent tragedy of Kumbh pilgrims at the Allahabad railway station resulting in loss of several lives, the Minister said it had happened despite most meticulous planning to ensure safety requirement of the pilgrims.
The incident had shaken the authorities and the Railways would strive to build a higher level of contingency margin in its future planning. This also underscored the need for giving top most priority to safety measures, he said. The Minister, however, said the number of accidents had come down. In this regard, he pointed out that accidents per million train km had decreased from 0.41 in 2003-04 to 0.13 at the end of 2011-12. Mr Bansal said a disquieting issue was the accident at the level crossings. Almost 40 per cent of the accidents and 60 per cent of fatalities were accounted at these Level Crossings (LC). To eliminate 31,846 LCs, the requirement was Rs 37,000 crore at the present day cost. The funds provided for regular drives to eliminate LCs by the Central Road Safety Funds was Rs 1,100 crore as against the requirement of Rs 5,000 crore.
Some of the measures proposed related to elimination of 10,000 level crossings during 12th Plan and not adding any new LC to the sytem, continued thrust on improved signalling not for just ensuring better safety for train operations but also to enhance track capacity. Among the measures the Railways Minister announced for improving the passenger amenities included identification of 104 stations, serving a population of more than one million or those serving places of religious/tourist importance for immediate attention to all aspects related to cleanliness, progressive extension of bio-toilets on trains, providing concrete aprons on platforms with mechanised cleaning facilities.
About 200 stations had already been covered so far. He also announced extending of services of On Board Housekeeping Scheme (OBHS) and Clean Trains Stations (VTSs) to more stations and trains. The Minister also announced the extension of unreserved ticketing system (UTS), Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs), Coin-operated Ticket Vending Machines (CO-TVMs) and scheme of Jan-Sadharan Ticket Booking Sevaks (JTBSs).
He also proposed setting up of six more Rail Neer bottling plants at Vijayawada, Nagpur, Lalitpur, Bilaspur, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. He said there would be free Wi-Fi facility on several trains to cater to the increasing aspirations and requirement of youths. Mr Bansal proposed upgrading another 60 stations as Adarsh Stations in addition to 980 already selected stations.
Outlay of Rs 63,363 crore proposed
Agencies, New Delhi
Presenting his maiden budget today, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said an outlay Rs 63,363 crore has been proposed for 2013-14 Rail Budget which will be financed through Gross Budgetary Support of Rs 26,000 crore, Railway’s Share in Road Safety Fund of Rs 2,000 crore and internal resources of Rs 14,260 crore.
Highlighting the importance of financial sustainability of the Indian Railways for its efficient upkeep, operation and maintenance, Mr Bansal in the Lok Sabha said, ‘’we must be realistic in setting targets.’’ He said during the year, the Railways will have to borrow Rs 15,103 crore from market and will have to mobilise Rs 6,000 crore through Public Private Partnership (PPP) route for its operations proposed in the Budget.
Expecting more revenue through freight and passenger tariff, the Railway Minister said freight earning is expected to be
Rs 93,554 crore, 9 per cent higher than the previous budget year. Similarly passengers tariff earning is expected to increase to Rs 42,210 crore, he said.
In view of expected growth of 11 and 10 per cent in Other Coaching and Sundry earnings respectively, the Gross Tariff Receipts are expected to be Rs 1,43,742 crore. While Ordinary Working Expenses for the year are expected to be Rs 96,500 crore. He said the appropriation to the Pension Fund is estimated to be
Rs 22,000 crore and the appropriation to Depreciation Reserve Fund has been kept at Rs 7,500 crore.
The Railway minister also expressed hope that Operating Ratio during the budget year will improve to 87.8 per cent from the Revised Estimate of Rs 88.8 per cent and Railway would be able to close the financial year with the balance of Rs 12,506 crore to the Railway funds.
Next generation e-ticketing system to be introduced
Agencies, New Delhi
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal today said his Ministry will put in place a Next Generation e-ticketing system to bring about a paradigm shift in internet rail ticketing.
Presenting the Railway Budget for 2013-14 in Parliament, he said the new system will significantly improve the end user experience in respect of ease of use, response time as well as capacity.
He said the new system shall be able to support 7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 at present. It will also support 1, 20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time against the present capacity of 40,000 with capability to easily scale up as demand increases in future.
The minister said, the system will make use of advanced fraud control and security management tools thereby further improving fairness and transparency in disbursal of tickets.
The minister also announced several IT initiatives for the benefit of passengers. These are:
i. Extending availability of the facility of internet ticketing
from 0030 hours to 2330 hours
ii. Making e-ticketing possible through mobile phones
iii. As a follow-up to overwhelming response to Indian Railway
website and Integrated Train Enquiry Service under —139—, a project of SMS Alerts to passengers providing updates on reservation status is being rolled out shortly
iv. Covering larger number of trains under Real Time Information System (RTIS), whereby rail-users will be able to access information through nominated websites and mobile phones.
67 New Express, 26 Passenger Trains to be Introduced
Agencies, New Delhi
Minister of Railways Pawan Kumar Bansal today announced the introduction of 67 new Express trains, 26 passenger trains, 5 MEMU services and 8 DEMU services while presenting the Railway Budget 2013-14 in Lok Shabha.
Express trains:
- Ahmedabad – Jodhpur Express (Weekly) Via Samdari, Bhildi
- Ajni (Nagpur) – Lokmanya Tilak (T) Express (Weekly) Via Hingoli
- Amritsar – Lalkuan Express (Weekly) Via Chandigarh
- Bandra Terminus – Ramnagar Express (Weekly) Via Nagda, Mathura, Kanpur, Lucknow, Rampur
- Bandra Terminus – Jaisalmer Express (Weekly) Via Marwar, Jodhpur
- Bandra Terminus – Hisar Express (Weekly) Via Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Marwar, Jodhpur, Degana
- Bandra Terminus – Haridwar Express (Weekly) Via Valsad
- Bangalore – Mangalore Express (Weekly)
- Bathinda – Jammu Tawi Express (Weekly) Via Patiala, Rajpura
- Bhubaneswar – Hazrat Nizamuddin Express (Weekly) Via Sambalpur
- Bikaner – Chennai AC Express (Weekly) Via Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Nagda, Bhopal, Nagpur
- Chandigarh -Amritsar Intercity Express (Daily) Via Sahibzada Ajitsingh Nagar (Mohali), Ludhiana
- Chennai – Karaikudi Express (Weekly)
- Chennai – Palani Express (Daily) Via Jolarpettai, Salem, Karur, Namakkal
- Chennai Egmore – Thanjavur Express (Daily) Via Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai
- Chennai – Nagarsol (For Sai Nagar Shirdi) Express (Weekly) Via Renigunta, Dhone, Kacheguda
- Chennai – Velankanni Link Express (Daily) Via Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur 18. Coimbatore – Mannargudi Express (Daily) Via Tiruchchirappalli, Thanjavur, Nidamangalam
- Coimbatore – Rameswaram Express (Weekly)
- Delhi – Firozpur Intercity Express (Daily) Via Bathinda
- Delhi Sarai Rohilla – Sikar Express (Bi-weekly) after gauge conversion
- Delhi – Hoshiarpur Express (Weekly)
- Durg – Jaipur Express (Weekly)
- Gandhidham – Visakhapatnam Express (Weekly) Via Ahmedabad, Wardha, Ballarshah, Vijaywada
- Hazrat Nizamuddin – Mumbai AC Express (Weekly) via Bhopal, Khandwa, Bhusawal
- Howrah – Chennai AC Express (Bi-weekly) Via Bhadrak, Duvvada, Gudur
- Howrah – New Jalpaiguri AC Express (Weekly) Via Malcia Town
- Hubli – Mumbai Express (Weekly) Via Miraj, Pune
- Indore – Chandigarh Express (Weekly) Via Dewas, Ujjain, Guna, Gwalior, Hazrat Nizamuddin
- Jabalpur – Yesvantpur Express (Weekly)Via Nagpur, Dharmavaram
- Jaipur – Lucknow Express (Tri-weekly) Via Bandikui, Mathura, Kanpur
- Jaipur-Alwar Express (Daily)
- Jodhpur -Jaipur Express (Daily) Via Phulera
- Jodhpur – Kamakhya (Guwahati) Express (Weekly) Via Degana, Ratangarh
- Kakinada – Mumbai Express (Bi-weekly)
- Kalka – Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (Bi-weekly) Via Hazrat Nizamuddin, Bhopal, Itrasi
- Kamakhya (Guwahati) – Anand Vlhar Express (Weekly) Via Katihar, Barauni, Sitapur Cantt, Moradabad
- Kamakhya (Guwahati) – Bangalore AC Express (Weekly)
- Kanpur – Anand Vihar Express (Weekly) Via Farrukhabad
- Katihar – Howrah Express (Weekly) Via Malda Town
- Katra – Kalka Express (Bi-weekly) Via Morinda
- Kolkata – Agra Express (Weekly) Via Amethi, Rae Bareli, Mathura
- Kolkata – Sitamarhi Express (Weekly) Via Jhajha, Barauni, Darbhanga
- Kota – Jammu Tawi Express (Weekly) Via Mathura, Palwal
- Kurnool Town – Secunderabad Express (Daily)
- Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Kochuveli Express (Weekly)
- Lucknow – Varanasi Express Via Rae-Bareli (6 Days a week)
- Madgaon – Mangalore Intercity Express (Daily) Via Udupi, Karwar
- Mangalore – Kacheguda Express (Weekly) Via Dhone, Gooty, Renigunta, Coirnbatore
- Mau – Anand Vihar Express (Bi-weekly)
- Mumbai – Solapur Express (6 Days a week) Via Pune
- Nagercoil – Bangalore Express (Daily) Via Madurai, Tiruchchirappalli
- New Delhi – Katra AC Express (6 Days a week)
- Nizamabad – Lokmanya Tilak (T) Express (Weekly)
- Patna – Sasaram Intercity Express (Daily) Via Ara
- Patliputra (Patna) – Bangalore Express (Weekly) Via Chheoki
- Puducherry – Kanniyakumari Express (Weekly) Via Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchchirappalli
- Puri – Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (Weekly) Via Sambalpur, Titlagarh, Raipur, Nagpur, Bhusawal
- Puri -Ajmer Express (Weekly) Via Abu-Road
- Radhikapur – Anand Vihar Link Express (Daily)
- Rajendra Nagar Terminus (Patna)- New Tinsukia Express (Weekly) Via Katihar/ Guwahati
- Tirupati – Puducherry Express (Weekly)
- Tirupati – Bhubaneswar Express (Weekly) Via Visakhapatnam
- Una / NangaJdam- Hazoor Saheb Nanded Express (Weekly) Via Anandpur Saheb, Morinda, Chandigarh, Ambala
- Visakhapatnam – Jodhpur Express (Weekly) Via
- Visakhapatnam – Kollam Express (Weekly)
- Yesvantpur – Lucknow Express (Weekly) via Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh
Passenger Trains:
1. Bathinda – Dhuri Passenger (Daily)
2. Bikaner-Ratangarh Passenger (Daily)
3. Bhavnagar – Palitana Passenger (Daily)
4. Bhavnagar – Surendranagar Passenger (Daily)
5. Bareilly – Lalkuan Passenger (Daily)
6. Chhapra -Thawe Passenger (Daily)
7. Loharu – Sikar Passenger (Daily) after gauge
conversion
8. Madgaon – Ratnagiri Passenger (Daily)
9. Marikuppam – Bangalore Passenger (Daily)
10. Muzaffarpur – Sitamarhi Passenger (Daily) via
Runnisaidpur
11. Nadiad – Modasa Passenger (6 days a week)
12. Nandyal – Kurnool Town passenger (Daily)
13. New Amravati – Narkher Passenger (Daily)
14. Punalur – Kollam Passenger (Daily)
15. Purna – Parli Vaijnath Passenger (Daily)
16. Palani-Tiruchendur Passenger (Daily)
17. Ratangarh – Sardarsahar Passenger (Daily) after
gauge conversion
18. Samastipur- Banmankhi Passenger via Saharsa,
Madhepura (Daily) after gauge conversion
19. Shoranur – Kozhikode Passenger (Daily)
20. Surendranagar – Dharangdhara Passenger (Daily)
21. Suratgarh – Anupgarh Passenger (Daily)
22. Somnath – Rajkot Passenger (Daily)
23. Sitamarhi – Raxaul Passenger (Daily)
24. Sriganganagar – Hanumangarh-Sadulpur Passenger
(Daily) after gauge conversion
25. Talguppa – Shimoga Town Passenger (Daily)
26. Thrisur-Guruvayur Passenger (Daily)
MEMU Services:
1. Barabanki – Kanpur
2. Chennai – Tirupati
3. Delhi- Rohtak (Replacement of conventional service
by MEMU)
4. Lucknow – Hardoi
5. Sealdah – Berhampore Court
DEMU Services:
1. Bhatkal – Thokur
2. Delhi – Kurukshetra Via Kaithal
3. Katwa – Jangipur
4. Lucknow – Sultanpur
5. Lucknow – Pratapgarh Via Gauriganj
6. Madgaon – Karwar
7. Rohtak – Rewari
8. Taran Taran – Goindwal Saheb
