New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today presented NDA government's firs fully-fledged Rail Budget 2015-16. Keeping passenger fares unchanged, Prabhu promised to balance passenger needs and long-term interests of the organisation to benchmark it globally on quality, safety and reach.
Following are the highlights of the Railway Budget 2015-16:
- No hike in passenger fares
- No new trains announced
- Freight rate for cement, coal, others hiked by up to 10%
- Investment of Rs 8.50 lakh cr envisaged in 5 five years
- Buttons, coin vending machines for railway tickets
- e-catering to select meals from an array of choices
- 24X7 helpline for passenger security problems
- Surveillance cameras in suburban coaches for woman safety
- More General class coaches to be added
- SMS alert service for passengers to be expanded
- On-board entertainment on select Shatabdi trains
- Hike daily passenger carrying capacity from 21mn to 30mn
- 200 more stations to come under Adarsh Station scheme
- Wi-Fi connectivity at B category stations
- A new department to keep stations, trains clean
- Operating ratio to improve to 88.5% in 2015-16
- Speed in 9 railway corridors to be increased from 110 kmph and 130 kmph to 160 and 200 kmph
- Collision Avoidance System to be installed on select routes
- Proposed 77 new projects covering 9,400 km of doubling works.
