Highlights of Rail Budget 2013
New Delhi, Feb 26: India TV Business brings you complete coverage on the Railway Budget 2013. Here are major points Railway minister Pawan Bansal mentioned in his Rail Budget speech:* 22 new lines to be
* Chair at Delhi to promote research in reducing carbon footprint
* Complementary passes of freedom fighters to be renewed every three years instead of annually
* Complementary first class passes for parents of unmarried posthumous awardees of Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra
* Rs 9000 crore investments expected including Rs 3,800 crore in port connectivity and Rs 800 crore in iron ore mines connectivity.
* Indian Railway Institute for Financial Management to be set up at Secunderabad to train rail officers on a regular basis.
* 47,000 vacancies for weaker sections and physically challenged to be filled up soon.
* Railways plans 75MW wind power generation: Bansal
* New complaint No: 1800-111-321
* New coach manufacturing and maintenance facilities to be set up in various places including Rae Bareli, Bhilwara, Sonepat, Kalahandi, Kolar, Palakkad and Pratapgarh.
* Bansal announces sops for the thousands of railway employees.
* Allocation of Rs 1,000 crore each made for railway land development authority and railway station development authority.
* Railways set to enter 1 billion ton freight club of China, Russia and US, Bansal says.
* New train Azadi Express to places linked with the freedom struggle to be introduced, fares to be concessional: Bansal
* Common rail-bus ticket to be introduced for Katra-Vaishnodevi pilgrims.
* Special A/C coaches 'Anubhuti', to be introduced in select Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains to give excellent ambience with commensurate fare.
* SMS alert service being rolled out shortly to intimate passengers about reservation status, Pawan Bansal says.
* One coach in Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains to be equipped with special facilities: Pawan Bansal
* Railways to set up six more Rail Neer bottling plants: Bansal
* Free wi-fi facility to be provided in select trains.
* 104 stations to be identified for special attention: Pawan Kumar
* The new e-ticketing system will be able to bear the load of simultaneous login of 1,00,000 users. The present capacity stands at 40,000: Bansal
* The new e-ticketing system will be able to book over 7000 tickets in a minute.
* Next generation of e-ticketing system to be introduced by end of the next year: Bansal
* Rs one lakh crore to be raised from public-private partnership, Rs 1.05 lakh crore through internal resources in the 12th Plan, says railway minister P K Bansal.
* 12th Plan railway size to be Rs 5.19 lakh crore, with gross budgetary support of Rs 1.94 lakh crore.
* I will look forward to use of Aadhaar card for railway services, Bansal
* Bansal recites Dushyant Kumar's famous lines: Sirf hungama Khada karana mera maksad nahim, meri koshish hai ki ye soorat badalini chahiye.
* Our target is zero accident, Bansal says.
* There has been a significant fall in number of train accidents: Pawan Bansal
* Recruitment of RPF is being conducted with 10% reservation for women, Bansal says.
* Pawan Bansal: Estimated losses at Rs 24,000 crore in 2012-13.
* About 50% fatalities happen because of unmanned railway crossings: Pawan Bansal
* Pawan Bansal admits passenger services have deteriorated in trains.