New Delhi: Hundred new trains along with a new economic class AC train, ‘Bharat Gaurav' are likely to be announced in annual Rail Budget which will be presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Parliament tomorrow. There will not be any hike in passenger fares in the Budget.
IndiaTV has exclusive information about the Budget that will be presented in the Parliament tomorrow. Though there will not be any increase in passenger fares the government can increase fares of Tatkal tickets and premium special trains to generate more revenue.
It is worth a mention that the government had hiked passenger fare by 14.2% and fright price by 6.5% before the Budget last year.
Other than 100 new trains in the budget, a plan to increase the capacity of the existing trains by adding 25,000 extra coaches will be announced.
The name 'Bharat Gaurav' was suggested by the Prime Minister himself. The coaches of the train will be same as the Third AC but the fare would be lower.
Considering the upcoming elections in Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, these states could get new trains in the budget. Bihar is likely to get five new superfast Sampark Kranti Express trains, of which two will be running from Patna. At least half a dozen new trains will be given to UP. Orisa and Gujarat could also get some new trains.
Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu could also announce AC local trains for Mumbai in the budget. The headquarters of Central and Western Railway could be shifted to Nagpur-Pune and Ahmedabad respectively.
Unreserved passenger trains could be announced for many routes. New Shatabdi, Rajdhani and tourist trains could also be announced in the Budget. Special trains connecting the tourist and pilgrimage sites could also be announced.
A number of high-speed and semi-highspeed trains could also be announced in the Budget by Mr. Prabhu. Gatiman Express, a semi-highspeed train running between Delhi and Agra with average speed of 160 kph is also on the plate. He is likely to announce the import of 10 high speed trains which will between Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Agra, Chennai-Bangalore and Mumbai-Ahmedabad.
The announcement for Modi's dream project Diamond Quadrilateral is likely to be made in the budget. The Diamond Quadrilateral will connect for metros Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai with high-speed trains.
He could also make announcements related to the development of bullet trains. The first bullet train will run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The cost of developing bullet train route of 545 km is estimated at Rs70,000 crore.
Issues like train safety, especially female safety, cleanliness in trains will be addressed in the budget. The government could announce some new facilities like pizza delivery in trains and wi-fi in the budget.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said he has considered the requirements of every class in the budget even when the Indian Railways is passing through a bad phase. He met the representatives of private companies before finalizing the budget.
