A people friendly Railway Budget as predicted

Railwau Minister Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav presents the new Railway Budget. The following is the salient features of the Budget 2008:

• Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters
• Doubling of lines to be given priority
• Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters
• Doubling of lines to be given priority
• Professional agencies being involved on a pilot basis to ensure cleanliness in running trains
• Railways has set aside a budget for modernization in the coming year, he said
• Work on automatic signalling to start in new sections
• Touch screens at stations across the country
• Special benefits for porters, gangmen. Gangmen will man level railway crossings. Licenced porters to be absorbed as Class IV employees
• Railways planning smart card-based ticketing system
• Railways to bring in led displays in stations on train arrivals/ departures
• Electrification of more rail routes
• Concession from 30-50% in passenger fares in all classes for woman senior citizen
• Free monthly season tickets for girl students up to graduation, boy students up to 12th standard
• Mother Child Health Express to be started
• 50% concession for AIDS patients
• Stainless steel coaches for mail and express trains
• Cleanliness drive on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains
• CCTvs at all important stations
• Modular toilets to be introduced in trains
• 'Go Mumbai' card to be sold at bus depots
• Railways to provide escalators at 50 per cent of the stations in the country
• 6,000 automatic ticket sale machines to be put up in 2 years
• Railways to talk to foreign companies to design new wagons
• By 2010, all coaches will be made of steel
• No ticket queues in 2 years, predicts Lalu
• Railway tickets to show 'expected time of arrival'
• Railways will also issue wait-listed e-tickets.
• Railways offer hi-tech services on board and promised television and Internet in trains, and LCD display boards at railway stations
• Bomb detecting equipment to be installed at major stations
• Metal detectors and baggage scanner to be installed and at major stations
• Railways to link all call centres by 2009 for better coordination and monitoring
• 16,548 tracks to be renewed
• Route of 16 trains to be extended
• Special train between Delhi and Pune for Commonwealth Games
• 560 railway station-platforms to be lengthened to be able to accommodate long trains
• Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters
• Railways show a surplus of Rs 68,778 crore (Rs 687.78 billion) in the last four years
• Private companies should be allowed to make terminals on railway land, proposes Lalu
• Clearance given for western freight corridor from Delhi to JNPT, Nhava Sheva, adjoining Mumbai
• E-ticket booking is likely to rise to 300,000 from 100,000 in a year
• Rail travel for Ashok Chakra winners in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains to be free
• Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains to get more coaches
• Express trains to have public address system
• Northern railway main hospital in Delhi will be fully airconditioned. Divisional railway hospitals in Jaipur and Hubli will be upgraded
• Railways to acquire land for its projects on the lines of National Highways Authority of India
• A new rail coach unit to be set up in Kerala
• Kerala has offered 1000 acres of land for rail coach factory free of cost
• Foot overbridges at all high-level platforms
• The railway minister said that operating ratio of the Railways was at 76% and that Rs 49,250 crore (Rs 492.50 billion) invested into new railway projects
• Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion) to Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) in the last four years
• Productivity of Railway assets has been constantly increasing, Lalu said. Number of passenger trains were increased in the peak season. Railways attained 790 tonne payload target in the year 2007-08
• Everybody is happy with our performance, said Lalu. He also added that the Railways had done tremendous work in the year 2007-08
• Freight loading estimated to increase from 650 mt to 1100 mt by 2011
• New policy for wagon leasing
• New line for Ennore Power Station.