New Delhi: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the Railway Budget 2016-17 in Lok Sabha on Thursday. The minister announced a slew of passenger friendly and said that the core objective of Indian Railways is to become an engine of economic growth and create employment and provide customer service.
Here are 10 major highlights of Suresh Prabhu 2016 Rail Budget
1) No change in passenger fares
2) Four new categories of trains introduced:
a) Uday Express - double decker express trains with 40% more capacity
b) Tejas- trains with speed of 130 kmph
c) Humsafar Express- fully AC 3-tier trains
d) Antyodaya Express -for long distance unreserved travel on high density corridors and will also add Deen Dayal coaches for long distance trains.
3) 400 railway stations to be equipped with wifi, 100 this year. Online booking of retiring rooms made possible
4) To introduce 'Clean my Coach'scheme which will help passengers SMS to get the toilets and coaches cleaned.
8) 17,000 additional bio-toilets to be provided by the end of current fiscal. Porters to not be called ‘coolies' but ‘sahayaks' now; will be trained in soft skills.
5) To set up dedicated IVRS system for direct feedback from passengers. Social media being increasingly used to ensure transparency. All-India 24X7 helpline for women.
6) Vision 2020: a) Reserved accommodation for trains being available on demand.
b) Punctuality increased to 95%
c) 0 direct discharge of human waste
d) Eliminations of all unmanned crossings
e) Semi-High speed trains for golden quadrilateral
f) Dedicated freight corridors for North-South, East-West and East Coast
7) Two elevated tracks envisaged from Churchgate and CST on Mumbai's suburban railway system
8) Sale of tickets to be initiated by hand held devices and platform tickets through vending machines. Refund process to made simpler, bar coded tickets to be introduced
9) 33 pc reservation to women in reserved quota in Railways to be introduced.To increase lower berth quota for senior citizens by 50 per cent.
10) IRCTC website to consider e-commerce initiatives because of high number of hits. 2 new loco factories to be set up at cost of Rs 40,000 cr under Make in India initiative.
