Railway Minister Lalu Yadav has just set the Rail Budget'06 on the tracks. The Rail Budget, Lalu's third, which is being billed as a people-friendly budget, is loaded with numerous frills for A/C passengers and features schemes to woo the low-cost airline fliers.
The budget does not prescribe any hike in passenger fares.
The budget does not prescribe any hike in passenger fares.
The Highlights of the Rail Budget, 2006-07:
- No increase in passenger and freight fare
- 1st class AC fare to be cut by 18 per cent
- 2nd AC fares down by 10 per cent
- 50 per cent concession for farmers in sleeper class
- 50 per cent concession to disabled persons
- 50 per cent concession to those travelling for treatment
- 55 new trains by next fiscal
- Private container trains from March 21
- Diesel/Petrol freight rates down by 8 per cent
- Gharib Rath on Pilot basis for 4 trains
- Gharib Rath will be fully airconditioned
- Gharib Rath fare will be 25 per cent less than AC 3 tier
- Dedicated freight corridor on western and eastern route
- Dedicated frieght corridor to cost Rs 22,000 crore
- Special security arrangement for women on trains
- Four popular trains to have world-class amenities and interiors
- E-tickets charges to be reduced. These can also be bought from travel agents.
- New aluminium and stainless steel wagons
- 550 kms of new lines in 8 sections
- Up to 30 per cent fare discount during non-peak season
- 20 per cent freight discount in peak season on incremental freight
- 200 automatic ticket vending machines in Mumbai suburb
- Over 200 mail/express trains to be made superfast
- Platforms at 200 stations to increase in length
- New technology passenger coaches to be introduced in Patna and Sealdah Rajdhanis
- ATMs,cyber cafes to be provided at all major stations
- Journey times of Shatabadis,Rajdhanis and of certain mail express trains to reduce
- 1,100 km of gauge conversion, 435 km of doubling
- Freight loading target for 2006-07 at 726 million tonnes
- Freight revenues to be Rs 40,320 crore in 2006-07
- Passenger revenues to be Rs 16,800 crore in 2006-07
- Number of commodity groups to be reduced from 80 to 28
- 'A' & 'B' category stations to be made model stations
- All-India rail timetable to be reworked
- Number of coaches in 190 trains to be increased
- Upgradation of lower class passengers to higher class
- Jan Sadharan ticket booking scheme, pre-paid UTF counters to unemployed youth
- Grameen ticket booking service: Unemployed rural youths to sell railway tickets from roadside station agencies
- Largest ever Plan outlay of Rs 23,475 crore
- Outlay includes Rs 7,511 cr from central exchequer
- Outlay includes Rs 10,794 crore from internal resources
- Outlay includes Rs 5,170 crore from extra budgetary funds
- Railway to raise output of electronic locomotives by 20 per cent
- Public-private partnership to boost Railway infrastructure
- RPF modernised to strengthen passenger security in trains
- RPF escort parties for over-1,000 passengers trains everyday
- Steps to shrink queues at booking counters
- New technology LHB design passenger
- Upgradation of lower class passengers to higher class
- Double stack container train to be launched in March
- High speed 150 km per hour trains also to start on Delhi-Kanpur-Lucknow route
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