Highlights of Rail Budget 2014

New Delhi: Railway minister Sadananda Gowda presented his maiden budget on Tuesday.

Highlights of the Rail Budget

• Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom and I am grateful to PM Modi ji for having reposed his faith in me, says Railway minister Sadananda Gowda
• Though I am a month old in the ministry, I am flooded with request for new trains, better services, new lines
• Indian Railways is the soul of the economy and our target is to become largest freight carrier in the world
• Indian railways carry only 31% of the total freight in the country. It is a challenge we have to face, says Rail Minister
• We need to balance social and commercial obligations and we ill start work on high speed network
• There had been focus on sanctioning projects rather than completing them
• There are 4 projects that are over 30 years old but have still not been completed
• Managing the Railways takes most of our resources. We spend 94% of our earnings, are left with just 6 per cent
• The medicine may act bitter in the beginning but will be a nectar in the end: Gowda
• Need Rs 50,000 cr every year for the next ten years for Railways
• Ministry of Railways is seeking cabinet approval for FDI in Railways, except Railway operations
• The fare revision was tough but necessary decision, it will bring Indian Railways an additional revenue of Rs 8000 crore
• Can get claps from this house by announcing new projects but that would be rendering injustice to the struggling organization
• Gross traffic receipts in 2013-14 was Rs 12,35,558 crore; operating ratio was 94 per cent
• Ministry of Railways is seeking cabinet approval for FDI in Railways, except Railway operations
• Need PPP Route to finance bulk of projects including high speed rail
• Need to have private-public partnership to improve condition of railways
• Through PPP route want to provide foot-over bridges, escalators and lifts across all stations
• Populist projects and mismanagement have brought Railways to point of funds crunch, says Rail Minister
• Indian Railways spent Rs 41,000 crore on laying of 3,700 km of new lines in last 10 years
• Surplus revenues declining. Hardly any resources for development work
• I propose to introduce pre cooked and ready to eat meals of reputed brands and want battery operated cars for senior citizens at railway stations: Gowda
• Propose to hike budgetary plan outlay to Rs.47,650 crore
• High priority areas - safety, cleanliness, passenger amenities and capacity augmentationr
• Large part of the budget outlay to go to safety projects
• Will introduce RO drinking water in trains and on stations
• Propose to outsource cleaning responsibility on 50 stations to specialist cleaning agencies
• CCTVs at stations will be used to monitor cleaning activities
• Severe action to be taken against vendors delivering unhygienic food, including cancellation of contracts
• Bio-toilets in trains to be increased to mitigate direct discharge of human waste on tracks and platform
• Severe action to be taken against vendors delivering unhygienic food, including cancellation of contracts
• Bio-toilets in trains to be increased to mitigate direct discharge of human waste on tracks and platform
• Ticket bookings through post offices and mobile phones will be popularized, also coin operated ticket machines
• Contemplating setting up of a railway university, both technical and non-technical courses
• I propose Bullet trains, Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector has been identified
• Efforts will be made to increase speed of trains to 160-200, on select sectors
• I propose retiring rooms on all stations: Sadananda Gowda
• Indian Railways to set up food courts at major railway stations
• Railways to scale down market borrowings to Rs 11,790 crore
• Allocated Rs 100 crore For High- Speed Rail Network
• To Have Diamond Quadrilateral Network for High-speed Trains
• 17,000 Railway Protection Force personnel to be available soon
• Introduction of women RPF constables, coaches meant for women to be escorted for greater safety
• To allot Rs 1,780 Crore to eliminate unmanned level crossings
• To have Digital Reservation Charts at stations
• Will provide summer internships to undergraduate students from engineering background
• E-procurement will be made compulsory for purchase of 25 lakh and more
• Recent fare and tariff hike to mop additional revenue of about Rs 8,000 crore, says Rail Minister
• Resource mobilisation through leveraging PSU resources, FDI and Public Private Participation
• Solar energy to be harnessed through PPP by utilizing rooftop spaces of stations and railway buildings
• Hospital Management Information System to integrate all railway health units and hospitals
• Ladies' coaches to be escorted by women RPF constables; additional care for ladies travelling alone
• 29 rail projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with Rs. 20,680 crores will be completed
• Bangalore to get suburban rails
• 27 express trains to be introduced, 5 new jan sadharan trains to be introduced
• Chaos in Parliament as Rail Minister ends his budget speech. Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Railway Budget presentation:

• PM Modi: This budget gives priority to transparency, integrity. Its growth engine for India, not a mere passenger source
• This rail budget will become a huge power for the economy. Its about developing the nation through development of railways: PM
• Railways have come up with initiatives which show where we want to take country, not just the railways.
• First time there is holistic railway budget of modern India. Railway cannot be run on an ad-hoc basis:
• Now in real terms this is a Bharatiya Railway. For a long time, the vision was broken, not unified. Now its the 21st century budget : PM Modi

The Rail Minister had earlier indicated that bullet trains and semi-high speed trains are in the pipeline. Gowda had said, " (High speed trains) are not possible within a year or two but we should look into that direction. The budget will focus on amenities for commuters and it will benefit India in the long run.”

The rail finance bill is traditionally regarded by economists as setting the stage for the national budget, due Thursday, in which the government will lay out its economic reform plans.

Prime Minister Modi last week said in a speech he hopes for more private sector money in modernising the railways, still the main form of long-distance travel for most of India's population of 1.2 billion people.

"We want the railway stations to have better facilities than airports. This is our dream," said Mr Modi, whose government is expected to announce more public-private partnerships in railway infrastructure.

"You will see a change in near future," he said, adding that "private parties would also be ready to invest because this is a good project economically and will benefit everyone".

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which took office in May after scoring a landslide election win, has also said it favours a greater role for private business in building other infrastructure such as roads and ports.

Read: Railway Budget 2014: Modernization, Technology Induction, Green initiatives

But the BJP has said modernisation of the decrepit and over-burdened train network tops its ambitious agenda for infrastructure-building in India. Dilapidated transportation has held back growth of Asia's third-largest economy, analysts say.

To help fund new wagon purchases, modernise track, revamp lines and improve safety, the government hiked passenger fares by 14.2 per cent and freight rates by 6.5 per cent - the steepest rise in 15 years and a politically controversial move.

A public outcry saw the government later partially climb down over city commuter fare hikes, underscoring the difficulty in reducing subsidies in a tough economic environment where hundreds of millions of people live in dire poverty.

Read: Railway Budget 2014: Passenger amenities, safety and security planned for premier trains

The economy is growing by just under 5 per cent annually, far below the near double-digit pace of a few years ago.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley underlined Monday in parliament the government's determination to go ahead with difficult belt-tightening decisions, saying "for any public utility to run, the users must pay".

The government has also suggested it may open up the railway to foreign investors, and analysts will be looking for any suggestion of such a move in the rail budget as a sign of desire to welcome more outside investment.

Read: Railway Budget: Several mega railway projects hang in balance in Tamil Nadu

Analysts say as much as $500 billion (Rs. 30 lakh crore at 1 dollar = 60 rupees) must be invested over the next decade to overhaul the Victorian-era network.

In the national budget, Mr Jaitley is expected to press forward with fuel price rises as part of efforts to curb subsidies.

India's subsidies on energy, food and fertiliser total some Rs. 2.6 lakh crore ($43 billion) annually.