Following are the highlights of the Interim
Railway Budget 2014-15 presented in the Lok Sabha by railway minister
Mallikarjun Kharge on 12 February 2014.
Achievements / Initiatives
>> Major landmark achievement in
National Project of Kashmir
>> State of Meghalaya and capital of
Arunachal Pradesh to be on Railway Map by this fiscal.
>> Gauge Conversion of strategically
important 510 km Rangiya - Murkongselek line in Assam to be completed by this
fiscal.
>> XIth Five Year Plan Targets
exceeded in New Lines (2,207 km) , Doubling (2,758 km) and Electrification
(4,556 km), Production of Diesel (1,288) & Electrical (1,218) Locos and
Acquisition of Wagons (64,875)
>> Dedicated Freight Corridors on the
Eastern and Western Routes - leading to strategically critical capacity
augmentation.
>> Railways met from its own means
the total additional impact of Rs one lakh crore due to implementation of 6th
Pay Commission
>> In 2013-14, 1532 km of New Lines,
Doubling and Gauge Conversion commissioned.
>> Production commenced at the new
factories - Rail Wheel Plant, Chhapra ; Rail Coach Factory, Rae Bareli ; and
Diesel Component Factory, Dankuni.
>> Specially designed coaches for
adverse weather condition for rail travel in Kashmir.
>> Successful development of
Corrosion resistant, lighter wagons with higher pay-load and speed potential
upt 100kmph.
>> Railways sportspersons dominate
national events by winning titles in 23 disciplines and runners up in 9
disciplines. In various international championships a total of 2 Gold, 4 Silver
and 3 Bronze Medals won.
>> Unigauge Policy started in 1992
has converted 19,214 km to Broad Gauge, benefitting several States including
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh,
Assam and Tamil Nadu.
Measures for
improving Safety and Security
>> No unmanned Level Crossing. A
total of 5,400 unmanned level crossings eleiminated - 2,310 by manning it and
3,090 by closure / merger / construction of ROBs or RUBs.
>> Improved audio - visual warning to
road users in advance of approaching trains.
>> Induction of indigenously
developed Train Collision Avoidance System
>> Development of 'crashworthy'
coaches
>> In last five years, offering
employment to over one lakh persons in Group C categories and to 1.6 lakh
persons in erstwhile Group D categories.
>> Provision of Vigilance Control
Device in all locomotives
Various measures to prevent fire incidents
on trains -
1) Fire retardant materials
2) Multi-tier protection for electric
circuits
3) Portable fire extinguishers in coaches
4) Induction based cooking to replace LPG
in pantry cars
5) Intensive checks against explosives and
inflammable materials.
Financial Health
Rail infrastructure by cost sharing
arrangement with State Governments; Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh and Haryana agreed to several projects
Several Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
projects are in the pipeline.
FDI being enabled to foster creation of
world-class rail infrastructure.
Rail Land Development Authority raised Rs
937 crore so far.Modernisation and Technology Induction
High Speed Trains
Joint feasibility study by India and Japan
for Mumbai - Ahmedabad Corridor to be co-financed by Japan International
Cooperation Agency
Business Development Study by SNCF for
Mumbai - Ahmedabad corridor.
Semi- High Speed Projects
Exploring low cost option of speeds 160-
200 kmph on select routes
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.
200 Stations, rooftops of 26 buildings and
2,000 level crossing gates to be covered.
Railways bagged 22 out of 112 awards given
by the Government.
'Green Curtains' along the track close to
major stations; Pilot work at Agra and Jaipur
Coverage of Bio-toilets in 2,500 coaches
and would be increased progressively.
Passenger Friendly Initiatives
Overwhelming public response to e-booking
of ticket
On-line tracking of exact location and
running of train movements
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 and arrival time.
'Upgradation' scheme extended to AC Chair
Car and Executive Chair car passengers.
Demand Management through Dynamic Pricing
Premium AC Special train introduced in
Delhi - Mumbai Sector with shorter advance reservation period and dynamically
varying premium over tatkal fare
Enhancing Market Share
Clearing missing links in Carrying Capacity
+ 8 tonne routes; freight train speeding ; upgradation of rolling stock ;
increasing length of trains ; tariff and incentive schemes to encourage traffic
to rail and minimizing empty running.
Rail Tariff Authority
Independent Rail Tariff Authority set-up to
advise on fixing of fares and freight, to engage all stake-holders
Information Technology
Initiatives taken include - proliferation
of cash accepting Automatic Ticket Vending Machines; ticketing on mobile phones
in unreserved segments ; system update on
PNR status; online booking of retiring
rooms at important stations ; online booking of meals for selected en-route
stations ; introduction of e-forwarding note and electronic transmission of
railway receipts for freight customers
Revenue Freight Traffic
Loading target of 1047 Million Tonnes for
2013-14 would be surpassed
Empty Flow Discount Scheme to be
implemented
Carrying Capacity + 9 tonne + 1 tonne
routes being planned
Easing of some restrictions on movement of
imported commodities through Containers
Carrying capacity of 20 feet containers
increased by 4 tonnes
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
Third party warehousing in Special Parcel
Terminals envisaged.
Financial Performance 2012-13
Loading of 1,008 Million Tonnes surpassed
the R.E. target of 1,007 Million Tonnes
Paid full dividend Rs 5,389 crore to
General Exchequer
90.2 per cent Operating Ratio in 2012-13
Repayment in full with interest of Rs 3,000
crore loan from the Government
Railway Fund Balances of Rs 2,391 crore
Financial Performance 2013-14
Loading Target raised to 1,052 Million
Tonne from B.E. 1,047 Million Tonne.
Freight Earnings Target revised to Rs
94,000 crore from B.E. Rs 93,554 crore
Stringent Financial control exercised and
Ordinary Working Expenses pegged only at Rs 560 crore higher than Budget
Estimates, despite various post-budgetary factors
Plan Outlay revised to Rs 59,359 crore
Operating Ratio likely to be 90.8 per cent
Fund Balances to continue to grow to Rs
8,018 crore
Budget Estimates 2014-15
Loading target of 1,101 Million Tonnes
Gross Traffic Receipts targeted at Rs
1,60,775 crore with Passenger Earnings (Rs 45,255 crore), Goods (Rs 1,05,770
crore), Other Coaching & Sundry Earnings (Rs 9,700 crore)
Ordinary Working Expenses placed at Rs
1,10,649 crore, higher by Rs 13,589 crore
Pension Outgo budgeted at Rs 27,000 crore
against Rs 24,000 crore for 2013-14
The entire Dividend of Rs 9,117 crore to
General Exchquer will be paid
Fund Balances likely to be Rs 12,728 crore.
Operating Ratio budgeted at 89.8 per cent
Annual Plan 2014-15
Annual Plan envisaged at Rs 64,305 crore
with a Budgetary Support of Rs 30,223 crore , Internal Resources of Rs 10,418
crore and Extra Budgetary Resources of Rs 19,805 crore
New Surveys : 19 New Lines and 5 Doubling
New Services
New
Trains
17 Premium trains
38 Express trains
10 Passenger trains
4 MEMU
3 DEMU
Extension and Increase in frequency
3 Extension of trains
3 increase in frequency
7) Recently (Feb 2014), who became the only
the 2nd player after former English captain Graham Gooch to hit a triple
century and a century in the same test match?
