No increase in passenger fares and freight tariffs has been proposed in the Rail Budget for the year 2010-11, bringing relief to Aam Admi, reeling under the impact of rising prices. Presenting the Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha today, the Railway Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee announced the introduction of 54 new long distance train services and 28 new short distance passenger train services. She also proposed extension of 21 trains and increase in frequency of 12 trains. 10 Duronto trains including one weekly, five bi-weeklies and four day-time Durontos are proposed to be introduced. The weekly Duronto will run from Yashwantpur in Bengalur to Delhi, five bi-weeklies from Mumbai to Secunderabad, Pune to Howrah, Mumbai to Ernakulam, Indore to Mumbai and Jaipur to Mumbai. The 4 day-time Durontos are proposed to run from Chandigarh to Amritsar, Chennai to Coimbatore, Puri to Howrah and Howrah to Digha.The Railway Minister, who presented her second Rail Budget in a row for the UPA government and the fourth in her political career, also proposed the introduction of 101 new suburban services in Mumbai area and more services in Chennai and Kolkata. The Railways also intend to construct high speed passenger corridors of 250 to 350 kilometer per hour. Six corridors have already been identified. A National High speed Rail Authority is proposed to be set up in this regard. She said 18,000 wagons will be acquired and surveys will be conducted for 114 socially desirable projects connecting backward areas. She said her ministry proposed to complete one thousand route kilometers of new lines in one year. She said there is a proposal for gauge conversion of 800 kilometers.To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, Ms Mamata Banerjee also proposed a special train called Sanskriti Express to run across the country. It is also proposed to take this train to Bangladesh. Special tourists trains named, Bharat Tirath will run on 16 routes across the country. They will connect popular tourist sites in different parts from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, Dwaraka to Vindhya Parbat, from Ajmer Sharief to Gangasagar and from Madurai to Patna Sahib. Ms Mamata said that this will emphasize the country's unity in diversity. A new weekly express train Janmabhoomi Express to start between Ahmedabad and Udhampur. Three unreserved trains called Karambhoomi trains will also be introduced. They are Darbhanga-Mumbai Express, Guwahati-Mumbai and New Jalpaiguri-amristar, all weeklies. A Commonwealth Exhibition train will run to mark the Commonwealth Games in India later this year. The Railway Minister said that the Ladies special trains will be renamed as Matrubhoomi Specials. She also announced some concessions in the fares for certain categories. Cancer patients going for treatment to get 100 per cent concession in 3 tier AC and Sleeper class. 50 per cent concession to spouses of Press Correspondents will now be extended also to the companions of those correspondents, who do not have a spouse and also for dependent children up to 18 years. Service charge on e-tickets to be reduced from fifteen to Ten rupees for Sleeper class and from forty to 20 rupees for AC class. A reduction of hundred rupees per wagon in freight charges for food grains for domestic use and kerosene. Concession in fares for technicians of regional film industry while travelling for film production work is also proposed.To ensure better passenger facilities, the Railway Minister announced that 94 railway stations will be upgraded as Adarsh Stations. Ten more stations identified to be converted as World Class stations. They are Ambala Cantt, Bolpur, Ernakulam, Gorakhpur, Jammu, Jhansi, Khargapur, Kota, Surat and Thane. The facilities also include construction of 93 additional Multi-Functional Complexes and setting up of 6 clean drinking water bottling plants through Public-Private-Participation (PPP) for providing cheap bottled drinking water. Stating that zero tolerance for accidents is the vision and the mission of the Railways, Ms Banerjee proposed the introduction of automatic fire and smoke detection system in 20 long distance trains to gear up security. All the unmanned Level Crossings will be converted into manned within 5 years. Security of women passengers will be improved by raising 12 companies of women Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel to be named as Mahila Vahini. She said priority will be given to minorities, SC, ST, OBC and economically backward classes. She said ex-servicemen will be involved in strengthening RPF. Emphasizing the need for taking care of nature in the face of climate change, she said at least ten rakes will be developed with green toilets. For the first time, 10 Rail eco-Parks will be set up to conserve, protect and promote Railways wetlands and forest areas.Talking about the welfare of 14 lakh Railway employees, she announced several initiatives including a new scheme of House for All to provide residence to all railway employees in the next ten years. She said 50 creches and 20 hostels are also proposed to be set up for the Railway women employees. 522 hospitals and diagnostic centres, 50 kendriya vidyalayas, ten residential schools on the pattern of Navodaya vidyalayas, model degree colleges and technical and management institutions of national importance are also proposed to be set up. Rashtriya Swashtya Bima Yojana for all licensed porters, vendors and hawkers, who are from the unorganised sector and are socially challenged, are also proposed.While ruling out the privatization of railways, she said the time has come for the business community to join hands to build partnership with railways. Private operators will be permitted to invest in infrastructure and run special freight trains. A Special Task Force will be set up to clear proposals for investments within 100 days. A separate structure will be created within the Railways for implementation of the business models. A Master Plan will be drawn up for the development of rail infrastructure in the North Eastern Region. Describing the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), as the Prime Minister's dream project, she said that Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) will be revamped. An agreement on the main loan for Phase One will be signed next month with Japan International Cooperation Agency for Western Corridor of the dedicated freight corridor. She said that a dedicated passenger corridor called Golden Rail Corridor is also being planned on the lines of Diamond Rail Corridor.The Railway Minister proposed the Plan Outlay for 2010-11 at 41 thousand, 426 crore rupees, which is the highest ever plan investment. She said the target of freight loading has been fixed at 944 Million Tons, which is an increase of 54 Million Tonnes. The Gross Traffic Receipts are estimated at 94 thousand 765 crore rupees, which is an increase of 6,490 crore rupees over 2009-10. She said the freight earnings have increased to 58,716 crore rupees, which is 191 crore rupees more than Budget Estimates.