Mamata Express spares passengers, cuts some freight rates

Zeebiz Bureau

New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday presented a populist Rail Budget for 2010-11 fiscal by leaving the passenger fares untouched, cutting the freight charges of grain and kerosene, and announcing 52 new long distance trains. The Budget also proposed enhanced cooperation with the private sector to expand the world’s second largest railway network.

In her 110-minute speech in the Lok Sabha, the minister said “social responsibility” is the motto of the Railways rather than economic viability, and added she did not want to “impose any burden” on the citizens.

"Therefore, I do not propose any increase in passenger fares of any class or category of trains. Similarly, I do not intend to increase freight tariff," Banerjee said.

She further ruled out privatization of the railways, but said the expansion of the PSU could be undertaken through public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

Rail Budget 2010: List of new trains
Rail Budget 2010: Full text

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:

Passenger Amenities:

Connectivity is key to India’s growth

People’s need for rail infrastructure unfulfilled – investment model has been drawn

Special drive for passenger amenities and cleanliness

Introduced ‘janata ahaar’

Other suggestions regarding food being looked into

To provide economical food in trains

Provide cheap, clean drinking water to passengers

Six bottling plants for clean drinking water through PPP model

SMS reservation, updates, double-deckers implemented

Attendants for senior citizens, children and women for boarding and alighting

E-ticket based mobile van to provide reservation at important places like hospitals, court, IT centres

Introduce green toilets in at least 10 trains

52 new long distance trains, 28 passenger trains and 10 Durontos to be launched

Tourist trains to run on 16 routes

Modern trolleys for senior citizens and handicapped

Service charge on sleeper class cut to Rs 10

A/C class service charge cut from Rs 40 to 20

Fare concession to film industry, journalists

Fare concession for children of journalists

E-ticket service charges reduced

Free travel for cancer patients on AC-3 class

Of 120 new trains, 117 to be flagged off by March

To launch 2 double-decker trains on pilot basis

To open ticket counters at village, panchayat level

To introduce more passenger trains

New Trains:

Of 120 new trains, 117 to be flagged off by March

Routes of 21 trains to be extended

A special train from India to Bangladesh to commemorate 150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore

‘Karmabhoomi’ trains for working class in Punjab, Bihar, Bengal

To launch new express trains ‘Janambhoomi’

To launch cross-country ‘Bharat Tirath’ trains

Freight:

No change in freight rates

Special freight trains for vegetables, vehicles

Roll in and roll off service

Western corridor agreement to be signed next month

Four new dedicated freight corridors

East west corridor to be set up

South-South corridor also proposed

Rs 100 per wagon cut on kerosene and food grain freight

Freight loading at 890 million tonnes during FY’10

See 944 million tonnes freight loading target FY11

To exceed freight loading target by 8 million tonnes

To notify policy for special freight trains soon

To ink Western Corridor agreement with Japanese firm

Door-to-door service for freight

Need high speed freight corridors

To allow iron ore Rake booking via internet

Premium tatkal service for parcel, freight movement

To buy 480 locomotives in FY11

Budgetary Figures:

FY 11 gross budgetary support seen at Rs 15,800 cr

Freight loading target at 944 million tones in FY 11

FY 11 pension fund at Rs 14,500 cr

FY 11 working spend at Rs 87,100 cr

FY 11 plan outlay at Rs 41,426 cr

FY 11 market borrowing at Rs 91,200 cr

FY 11 new line allocation to cost Rs 4411 cr

FY 11 operating ratio seen at 93.2 percent

Rs 1,302 crore for passenger amenities in the 2010-11 against Rs 923 crore last year

Gross traffic receipt for 2010-11 pegged at Rs 94,765 crore

Train passenger traffic to rise by 5.3 percent in FY 11

Despite slowdown, Railways to exceed freight loading target by eight million tonnes during 2009-10

Revenue from non-core business of Railways to go up from Rs 150 crore to Rs 1,000 crore

Saved Rs 2000 crore due to austerity drive

Impact of Sixth Pay Commission at Rs 55000 crore

Plan to raise Rs 10,000-20,000 cr in 2011

IRFC FY 11 market borrowing at Rs 88,400 cr

Rs 1000 cr set aside for Metro projects

FY11 dividend to exchequer Rs 6,608 crore

Railways’ FY09 combined turnover Rs 13,641 crore

Railways FY09 net profit Rs 1328 crore

To surpass FY10 freight target

FY10 revised estimate on gross earning Rs 88,200 crore

Rs 6,490 crore net revenue revised estmate for FY10

FY11 dividend liability Rs 6600 crore

FY11 additional budget support Rs 3,700 crore for 11 projects

Revenue via advertisement seen up at Rs 1000 crore

Infrastructure:

Work started on 67 multifunctional complexes

To set up 93 more multi-functional station complexes

To construct more subways, low height flyovers

More underpasses to be built

To set up coach factory in Singur if land available

To set up "Golden Rail Corridor"

To upgrade 94 stations as `Adarsh`

To upgrade 10 major stations as `worldclass`

World-class stations to start within timeframe

High-speed rail network a priority

PPP model for multi-layer parking

Rail network of 64,015 km so far

Automobiles hubs in 10 centres in PPP mode

1000 kms of new lines in one year vis-à-vis 180-km record so far

Target of 25000 kms in Mission 2020

New loco training centre to be set up in Kharagpur

Track training centre in Belighata, West Bengal

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) capacity to be increased from 200 to 275 locomotives/per year

Five new coach factories to be set up

Rae Bareli, Palakkad, Madherpura coach factories to start functioning this year

Wagon repair shop in Badnera in Maharashtra

Design development centre for wheels to be set up in Bangalore

Chennai coach factory to be modernised; a second factory to be also set up

Rail Axle Factory in Mumbai, Amravati, Jalpaiguri

Wagon factory to be set up in – Secunderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati

To set up diesel plant in West Bengal

Wagon repair factory in Mumbai

Railways to acquire 18,000 new wagons

Port connectivity via PPP

To achieve 700 km doubling, 800 gauge conversion in FY 11

To achieve 1000 km electrification in FY 11

1,021 route km doubling to be complete in a year

Gauge Conversion: Triunalveli-Tensaki, Dindigul-Palakkad, Chintamani-Chikballpur, Katiahar-Tejnaiarnapur, Chidwara-Nainpur-Mandla

Doubling: Talcher-Sambalpur, Mancheral-Pedampaet

Third-Line: Durg-Rajnandgaon

Electrification: Chapra-Varanasi-Allahabad, Bellary-Vasco, Bankura-Rainagar, Secundrabad-Medchal

To set up new refrigerated container unit

Investment:

Large quantum of investment needed for Railways

To invest Rs 858 crores under PPP projects FY11

Special task force to clear proposals for investment within 100 days

No privatization but a new business model to be developed

Separate structure for implementation of biz model

Will involve employees and unions in investment programme

Announcements:

Have created Mission 2020 - divided in short, medium and long terms

Mission 2020 will be a 10-year plan

English, Hindi, Urdu and local languages to be used for railway exams

Examination fee to be waived for poor, minority, SC/ST and women candidates

Concession for madrassa students, artists and journalists achieved

To improve technology to reduce incidents of accidents

Anti-collision devices (ACDs) and fire fighting devices to be put up

ACDs functioning in NF railways, to be introduced in 3 more zones

Of 17,000 unmanned crossings, 3,000 to be manned

All rail crossings to be manned in 5 years

Modern trolleys at all important stations

Automatic fire detection to be implemented on pilot

To provide fire alarms in long distance trains

New signaling system to be installed

More amendment for RPF reorganisation

To raise 12 companies of women RPF - to be called as ‘mahila vahini’

Ex-servicemen to be inducted in RPF

Five sports academies at Delhi, Secunderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai

Higher rail employment for sports persons

Increased employment opportunities for sportsmen

To run special trains for Commonwealth Games

Rabindranath Tagore related museums in Bolpur and Howrah

Rail Cultural Board to be set up

MoU with HRD and Health Ministries to set up 381 diagnostic centres across India

101 secondary hospitals to be set up

Model degree colleges, technical institutes will be also set up on railway land

‘Rashtriya swasthya bima yojna’ to be extended to porters and vendors

Multi-Functional health centres in 522 locations

New housing scheme for railway employees

Research partnership with premier institutes

Ten ecological parks to be set up

Employment to one member of the land losing family

20 hostels for women and children

Funding for all Metro projects raised by 55 percent

States to share burden of doubling, electrification

Master Plan for Northeastern region

To route socially desirable projects through plan panel

50 crèches for Railway employees’ children

To arrange funds for long term plans

To extend health scheme for hawkers, vendors

Rail research centre to be set up at IIT Kharagpur

Other Highlights:

Have got 5000 requests, but to do something is better than doing nothing at all

Administrative delays deter investors

Pitches for tie-up with businesses for development of railways

Want to be bench-marked with the best

Lagging in roping in post office

All commitments have been fulfilled in a span of just 7 months

Increased financial powers of field officers

Slams ‘rail roko’ protests as they cause inconvenience

Law and Order a state subject, not Railways’ responsibility

Railways will be the lead partner of Commonwealth Games

14 lakh employees in Indian Railways

Passenger earning impacted due to adverse climatic conditions in North India

Considered economic viability while formulating budget

Also considered social responsibility in budget

Objective is inclusive growth

Mission is country`s development

Goal is to unite country via railways

Railways is lifeline of country

Expectations from Railways high

Want to help everyone with limited infrastructure facilities

Rail infrastructure needs still unfulfilled

Need innovative financing for Rail projects

Need to ensure simple, friendly policy norms

To better infrastructure by joining hands with private sector

Need to develop new PPP business model

Separate structure for implementing plans

Security of passengers also a challenge

Want to strengthen Railway Police Force

No forceful acquisition of land for rail projects

Suburban Services:

Mumbai:

101 additional local train services

MUTP Phase 1 by year-end, Phase 2 by 2014

Chennai:

New services in Chennai suburban services

MRTS from St Thomas Mount to Vallichary in progress

Kolkata:

Extension of Kolkata Metro

Five metro stations to be renamed and redeveloped

New services from Sealdah

New Lines:

Lohardaga-Korba

Madurai-Kottyam

Maduri-Tuticorin

Mysore-Medekeri

Amethi-Shahgunj

Baramulla-Kupwara

Bilapur-Rampur

Chandigarh-Dehradun

Daurala-Bijnor

Dhule-Amlanar

Dindigul-Kumli

Etawah-Kashganj

Pawal-Alwar

Pandurranjgpuram-Bhdravhalam

Patilai-Kurukshtra

Pendra road-Korba

Bilaspur to Leh via Manali

Bhiwada-Bina

Jagdalpur-Dantewada

Jaisalmer-Barmer

Jammu-Poonch

Ramtek-Goteganj

Ranchi-Kanji

Rampur-Gangtok

Roorkee-Hariwdwar

Sitapur-Bhairach

Todi-Chatra

Jhaja-Giridih

Joginder-Mandi

Kachiguda-Chitral

Tumkur-Davengere

Udhampur-Katra-Doda-Kishtwar

Agartala-Akura-Bangladesh