The interim railway budget for 2014-15 was presented by Railway Minister, Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament today. Passenger fares and freight rates were left untouched. 72 new trains including Premium and express trains, besides more initiatives to ensure safety to eliminate loss of lives and property formed part of the Budget.

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.

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.

The Railway Minister in his speech 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.

Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge has underlined that his budget is not populist but practical. It addresses the country-wide populace with adequate emphasis on developing the railway network in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir. He said the days are not far when high-speed trains will be criss-crossing the country. The feasibility study for this is going on with Japan which is pioneer in this technology.