THE HIGHLIGHTS OF RAILWAY BUDGET ARE:

1. Seeking Cabinet approval for FDI in railways.

2. Bulk of future projects will be financed through PPP (public- private partnership) mode.
3. Indian Railways spent Rs 41,000 crore on laying of 3,700 km of new lines in last 10 years,
railway minister.
4. Surplus revenues declining.
Hardly any resources for development works. Rs 5 lakh crore required for ongoing projects
alone.
5. Railways should not depend on fare hike alone.
6. The work will begin on high- speed networks.
7. Aim to become the largest freight carrier of the world.
8. Railways to build FOB and escalators, toilets on all stations.
9. Ready-to-eat meals to be introduced in phased manners.
10. Food courts to be set up at stations.
11. CCTVs to monitor cleanliness of stations.
12. RO drinking water facilities to be installed at stations.
13. Online booking of railway waiting rooms.
14. The recent fare and tariff hike to mop additional revenue of about Rs 8000 crore.
15. 17,000 RPF constables to provide safety to passengers.
16. 4,000 women constables to be recruited to ensure safety of women.
17. Special trains for pilgrims circuits.
18. Special train to promote life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda.
19. Capacity for ticket bookings through e-booking to be enhanced.
20. Improvement in e-ticketing to 7200 tickets/minute; 1,20,000 user can log in simultaneously.
21. Require Rs 5 lakh crore to complete ongoing projects.
22. Efforts will be made to increase speed of trains to 160-200km/h on select sectors.
23. Wi-Fi services to be introduced at all A-class stations.
24. Bullet trains on Mumbai- Ahmedabad route.
25. Will develop 10 metro stations with state-of-the-art facilities.
26. Outsourcing at 50 major stations; on board housekeeping to be extended to more trains;
launching feedback service through IVRS on the quality.
27. Railway Minister announces decision to launch diamond quadrilateral of high speed trains.
28. 23 projects under way in northeast.
29. Hospital Management Information System to integrate all railway health units and hospitals.
30. Special milk tanker trains to
be introduced.
31. Temperature-controlled storage for fruits and vegetable.
32. Plan to attract investment from domestic and foreign players in infrastructure; focus to be on
aggressive indigenisation.
33. Demands for new stoppages to be considered only after feasibility study.
34. 18 surveys to be undertaken for new lines.
35. Railway Minister proposes setting up of Railway University for technical and
non-technical subjects, tie-up with technical institutions.
36. Paperless office of Indian railways in 5 years. Digital reservation charts at stations.
37. Office-on-wheels: Internet and workstation facilities on select trains.
38. 5 J an Sadharan trains to be introduced

NIKHIL PILANIA