Railway
Minister Mallikarjun Kharge presented the Interim Rail Budget 2014-15 in
Parliament on 12 February 2014 amidst uproar over the Telengana Bill and was
forced to cut short his speech. The Minister said 17 new premium trains and 38
new express trains will be introduced. He left passenger fares and freight
rates unchanged. The budget is for the first four months of the of the fiscal
year 2014-15 that begins in April 2014. Mr Kharge's maiden rail budget comes
just months away from the general elections.
Measures
for improving Safety & Security: Induction of indigenously
developed Train Collision Avoidance System; Development of crashworthy coaches;
Provision of Vigilance Control Device in all locomotives; Multi-tier protection
for electric circuits; Portable fire extinguishers in coaches; and Induction
based cooking to replace LPG in pantry cars.
High Speed
Trains: Joint feasibility study by India and Japan for Mumbai –
Ahmedabad Corridor to be co-financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency;
and Business Development Study by SNCF for Mumbai – Ahmedabad corridor.
Green Initiatives: Railway
Energy Management Company becomes functional. Windmill and solar power plants
to be set up with 40% subsidy from Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.;
Green Curtains along the track close to major stations; Pilot work at Agra and
Jaipur in progress; and Coverage of Bio-toilets in 2500 coaches and would be
increased progressively.
Passenger
amenities: 51 Jan-Ahaar outlets for Janta Meals; 48 passenger
escalators commisionsed at stations and 61 more being installed;
air-conditioned EMU services in Mumbai from July 2014; information display
system in important trains to indicate stations & arrival time.;
Upgradation Scheme extended to AC Chair Car and Executive Chair car
passengers.; Premium AC Special train introduced in Delhi – Mumbai Sector with
shorter advance reservation period and dynamically varying premium over tatkal
fare.
Freight
related measures: Parcel Terminals & Special Parcel Trains
with scheduled timings; New policy on parcels to encourage transportation of
milk; New concept of hub and spoke for parcel business; and Third party
warehousing in Special Parcel Terminals envisaged. State of Meghalaya and
capital of Arunachal Pradesh to be on Railway Map. Gauge Conversion of
strategically important 510 km Rangiya – Murkongselek line in Assam to be
completed. Independent Rail Tariff Authority set-up to advise on fixing of
fares and freight, to engage all stake-holders.
Budget
Estimates 2014-15: Loading target of 1101 Million Tonnes; Gross
Traffic Receipts targeted at 160775 crore Rupees with Passenger Earnings (45255
crore Rupees), Goods (105770 crore Rupees), Other Coaching & Sundry
Earnings (9700 crore Rupees); Ordinary Working Expenses placed at 110649
crore Rupees, higher by 13589 crore Rupees; The entire Dividend of 9117 crore
Rupees to General Exchquer will be paid; and Operating Ratio budgeted at 89.8%;
90.2% Operating Ratio in 2012-13 and Operating Ratio likely to be 90.8% in
2013-14. Annual Plan for 2014-15 envisaged at 64305 crore rupees with a
Budgetary Support of 30223 crore Rupees , Internal Resources of 10418 crore
Rupees and Extra Budgetary Resources of 19805 crore Rupees.
New
Surveys:
19 New Lines
5 Doubling
New
Trains:
17 Premium trains;
38 Express trains;
10 Passenger trains;
4 MEMU;
3 DEMU
Train
bonanza in interim rail budget for Andhra Pradesh
The South Central Railway (SCR) received a bonanza with Hyderabad
getting the lion's share of the new trains announced by railway minister
Mallikarjun Kharge in the interim Railway Budget 2014-15 on Wednesday. This is
the first time that Andhra Pradesh is given the "deserved attention"
by the Indian Railways, though several long-pending demands of the people of
Telangana and Seemandhra were conveniently ignored.
Train of sops
Aurangabad-Renigunta (weekly)
Guntur-Kacheguda double-decker Exp (bi-weekly)
Kacheguda-Tirupati double-decker Exp (bi-weekly)
Hyd-Gulbarga intercity (daily)
Nanded-Aurangabad Exp (weekly)
Kacheguda-Nagercoil Exp (weekly)
Sec'bad-Vizag AC Exp (weekly) via Kazipet, Vijayawada
Increase in frequency
Vijayawada-Hubli Exp from 3 days a week to daily
Secunderabad-Hubli Express from 3 days a week to daily
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