Railway Budget 2016

Highlights of Railway Budget 

India's first rail auto hub, boost to e-catering, connectivity to North-East and no hike in passenger fares. Here's a quick recap of all major announcements made by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

This is Mr. Prabhu's second rail budget.

1	No hike in passenger fares.
2	Action has been initiated on 139 budget announcements made last year.
3	Eliminate all unmanned level crossings by 2020.
4	Swacch Bharat: 17000 biotoilets and additional toilets in 475 stations before the close of this financial year.
5	Increased quota for senior citizens and women travellers this year.
6	Wifi at 100 stations this year and 400 stations next year.
7	Enhanced capacity of e-ticketing system from 2,000 tickets/min to 7,200/min. Supporting 1.2 lakh concurrent users now, as opposed to 40,000 earlier.
8	All major stations to be brought under CCTV surveillance in a phased manner.
9	Deen Dayal coaches for long distance trains for unreserved passengers. These coaches will include potable water and higher number of mobile charging points.
10	IRCTC to manage catering service in phased manner. Local cuisine of choice will be made available to passengers.
11	Cleaning of toilets by requests through SMS.
12	Children's menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available for travelling mothers.
13	GPS-based digital display in coaches for showing upcoming stations.
14	Will open cancellation facility through 139 helpline number.
15	Introduce bar-coded tickets on pilot basis to tackle menace of ticketless travel.

On new projects to be implemented this year:

1	Overnight double-decker trains to be introduced on business travel routes.
2	1,600 km of electrification this year and 2,000 km proposed for the next year.
3	Broad Gauge Lumding-Silchar section in Assam, connecting Barak Valley with rest of country.
4	North-East India, especially Mizoram and Manipur, to be connected through broad gauge soon.
5	Special purpose vehicle for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed corridor registered this month.

1.No changes in passenger fares and freight rates in Railway Budget for 2016-17.
2. World’s first Bio-vacuum toilet developed by Indian Railways is being used in Dibrugarh Rajdhani express
3. Children’s menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available for travelling mothers.
4. IRTC will begin to manage catering in a phased manner, local cuisine of choice will be made available.
READ: LIVE Railway Budget 2016: No fare hike announced by Suresh Prabhu
5. Three direct services – fully air-conditioned Humsafar to travel at 130-km per hour.
6. North-South, East-West dedicated freight corridor proposed in Railway Budget for 2016-17.
7. Overnight double-decker train Uday Express to be introduced on busiest routes, carrying capacity to be 40 per cent more.
READ: Suresh Prabhu confirms free WiFi in 100 stations by end of this year
8. 400 stations to be re-developed through PPP.
9. 400 railway stations to be equipped with wifi, 100 this year.
10. Porters to not be called “coolies” but be called “sahayaks” now; will be trained in soft skills.
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11. We intend to take up on priority provision of passenger amenities and beautification of stations at pilgrimage centres.
READ: Rail Budget might revamp coolie system with new name, trolleys and ads
12. We will introduce separate toilets for “divyaang” people.
13. Propose to invite FM radio stations to provide train borne entertainment via PA systems.
14.  Railways to increase lower berth quota for senior citizens by 50 per cent.
15.  Children menu to be introduced on pilot basis on trains.
16. 33 pc reservation to women in reserved quota in Railways will be introduced.
17. Cleaning of coach on demand to be introduced; Disabled enabled toilet in 11 Class-A stations this year.
18. Ajmer, Amritsar, Gaya, Mathura, Nanded, Nashik, Puri, Tirupati, Varanasi, Nagapattinam and other pilgrim stations to be beautified.
19.  Two elevated suburban railway corridors – Churchgate-Virar and CST-Panvel to be constructed in Mumbai; Ring railway covering 21 stations to be revived with state participation.
20.  Station development and re-development, monetisation of land to raise rail revenue from non-freight sources.
21.  India’s first railway auto hub in Chennai to be inaugurated soon.
22. Logistics and warehouse parks to be created on PPP mode.
23. We intend to give special focus on exploring advertisement potential.
24. Railways to monetise land on tracks by leasing out for horticulture and tea plantation.
25.  Overnight double-decker trains to be introduced on busiest rail routes.
26. Holding company to be explored for monetising assets of Railway companies.
27. Railway Board to be re-organised.
28. E-booking of tickets on concessional passes for journalists introduced.
29. Bar-coded tickets to be introduced at select stations on pilot basis.
30. Railway safety record is better this year than previous years but much more needs to be done.
31. Indian Railways will generate employment for 9 crore man days in 2017-18 and 14 crore in 2018-19
17 states agree to form JVs with Indian Railways for construction of rail-over-bridges.
32. Direct procurement of diesel to help save Rs 1,500 crore in 2016-17.
33. Time-table freight container train to be run on pilot basis.
34. Railways to borrow Rs 18,580 crore in 2016-17 fiscal.
35. The minister said 17000 bio toilets and additional toilets at 475 stations will be provided before the close of this year.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/business/budget/railway-budget-2016-suresh-prabhu-rail-budget-news/#sthash.0WXuznLk.dpuf

Stating that every customer is Railways' brand ambassador, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in his Rail Budget speech stressed that each time a traveller undertakes a journey the "satisfaction quotient must go up."

From no fare hike to smart coaches and ticketing facilities for unreserved travel, Prabhu announced a slew of measures aimed at enhancing customer experience. We take a look eleven such measures that will bring cheer to the common man:

1) For the unreserved pa ..

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