Passenger fares and freight rates were left untouched today in the interim rail budget for 2014-15. 17 new Premium trains, 38 Express trains, 10 passenger trains besides more initiatives to ensure safety to eliminate loss of lives and property formed part of the Budget presented by Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament.
Assuring that Railway safety will never be compromised, Mr Kharge said, several measures have been taken and more are in the pipeline to further strengthen safety. He said plans are afoot for induction of indigenously developed train collision avoidance system after successful completion of field trials. He said, provision of Vigilance Control Device will be made in all electric and diesel locomotives to monitor and judge the alertness of the driver to ensure safety of the train.
As soon as the Minister rose to present his speech, members from Seemandhra region trooped into the well, protesting against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Amidst noisy scenes, Mr Kharge tabled the budget speech after reading few lines from the opening and last paragraphs before commending it to the House.
On ensuring cleanliness in the coaches and on railway tracks, the Minister said, a bio-toilet design, adopted by the railways has been introduced in about 2,500 coaches and it is proposed to increase its coverage progressively.
Referring to Passenger Friendly initiatives, the Railway Minister said, passenger escalators are being installed at 61 railway stations. He said, air-conditioned EMU services will commence in Mumbai area by July this year. He said, the Independent Rail Tariff Authority, which is being set up to advise the government on fixing fares and freight in a transparent manner.
Mr Kharge said, the Capital of Arunachal Pradesh will soon be on rail map in this financial year with the commissioning of Harmuti-Naharlagun new line shortly. He said Meghalaya is also set to come on the rail map this fiscal as the Dudhnoi–Mehendipathar newline is getting completed by next month.
Announcing that the governments of Karnataka, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana have agreed to share cost of several rail projects, the Railway Minister appealed to other States to follow the suit to create rail infrastructure in their areas.
One of the important highlights of the budget is that a comprehensive fire and smoke detection system, currently on trial, would be extended to all passenger trains. The announcement is significant in view of rising fire incidents on trains. Another announcement relates to starting more high-speed trains and exploring low-cost option of semi-high speed trains on select routes. The budget spelt out a series of steps including SMS alerts, ticketing on mobile phones in the unreserved segment and online booking of meals for passengers' convienience. The budget also talked about plans to involve private sector and FDI to garner funds to modernise the largest transport network in the country.
