Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu on 26 February 2015 presented the first full-fledged Rail Budget
of the Modi government for 2015-16. He did not announce any new trains, saying
on the ground that a review was on about the capacity to add more trains which
will be announced after the review is over. Against the backdrop of talk of
privatisation of railways, the Minister said Railways will continue to be a
precious national asset and people of India will own railways always. Following
are the highlights of the Railway Budget 2015-16:
Download
as PDF: Click Here
* No increase in
railway passenger fares.
* Rail tickets can
now be booked 120 days in advance.
* 'Operation 5
mins', wherein passengers travellling unreserved can purchase a ticket in 5
minutes.
* Bio toilets and
airplane-type vaccum toilets in trains.
* Surveillance
cameras in select coaches and ladies compartments for women's safety without
compromising on privacy.
* Speed on nine
railway corridors to go up to 200 km per hour.
* Wi-Fi in more
stations, mobile phone charging facilities in all train compartments.
* Facility of
online booking of wheelchair for senior citizens.
* Satellite railway
terminals in major cities.
* Centrally managed
Rail Display Network is expected to be introduced in over 2K stations over the
next 2 years.
* All india 24/7
helpline - 138 from March 2015 ; Toll free No.182 for security.
* 917 road
under-bridges and over-bridges to be constructed to replace 3,438 railway
crossings; at a cost of Rs. 6,581 crore.
* Four Railway
Research Centres to start in four universities.
* 24 to 26 coaches
in certain identified trains, more general class coaches, ladders to be
replaced.
* 17000 more
toilets to be replaced by bio-toilets.
* The facility of
e-ticketing will help railways to go paper less.
* SMS alert
services for passengers to inform them about arrival and departure of trains.
* Modern facilities
for disabled citizens, senior citizens, patients through IRCTC.
* In 400 stations
wi-fi facility will be provided.
* Rs 8.5 lakh crore
will be invested in Railways in next 5 years.
* Cleanliness in
Railways highest priority under Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat.
* Surveillance
cameras on select mainline and ladies compartments.
* A1 category
stations will be given the facility of Wi-Fi.
* Freight rate for
cement, coal, others hiked by up to 10%
* More General
class coaches to be added.
* On-board
entertainment on select Shatabdi trains.
* A new department
to keep stations, trains clean.
* Collision
Avoidance System to be installed on select routes.
View Rail
Budget Speech (English): Click Here
View Rail
Budget Speech (Hindi): Click Here
Rail Budget
Highlights: Click Here
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