An increase in passenger fares across all classes, more than 100 new trains, enhanced frequency or routes for many others, and plans to hire more than one lakh employees were some of the key Rail Budget proposals made on Wednesday.
Presenting the annual Rail Budget for the financial year 2012-13 in Parliament on Wednesday, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi made following key proposals:
*Passenger fares to be hiked by 2 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class travel; 3 paise per km for mail/ express second class; 5 paise per km for sleeper class; 10 paise per km for AC chair car/AC 3-tier and First Class; 15 paise per km for AC 2-tier and 30 paise per km for AC 1-tier.
*Minimum fare and platform tickets to cost Rs 5.
*75 new Express trains to be introduced, along with 21 new passenger services, nine DEMU services and 8 MEMU services trains.
*Route of 39 trains to be extended and frequency of 23 trains to be increased.
*Railways to hire more than one lakh employees in 2012-13; 80,000 persons hired last year.
*Indian Railways Stations Development Corp to be set up to re-develop stations and maintain them like airports.
*To set up an independent Railway Safety Authority as a statutory body.
* The open discharge toilets on trains to be replaced with green (bio) toilets.
*All unmanned level crossings to be abolished in next five years; To target zero deaths due to rail accidents.
*To provide rail connectivity to neighbouring countries, a new line from Agartala to Akura in Bangladesh to be set up.
*Double-decker container trains to be introduced.
*Steps to improve cleanliness and hygiene on trains and stations within six months. A special house keeping body to be set up to take care of both stations and trains.
*New passenger services include escalators at major stations, alternative train accommodation for wait-listed passengers, laundry services, AC lounges, coin/currency operated ticket vending machines.
*Two new members, one for marketing, and other for safety, to be inducted into Railway Board.
*On board passenger displays indicating next halt station and expected arrival time to be introduced.
*Introduction of regional cuisine; Book-a-meal scheme to provide meals through SMS or email.
*Specially designed coaches for differently-abled persons to be provided in each Mail/Express trains.
*Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority to be considered.
*National High Speed Rail Authority to be set up; Pre-feasibility studies on six high speed corridors completed; study on Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur to be taken up in 2012-13.
*Wellness programme for railway staff at work places.
*Institution of ‘Rail Khel Ratna’ Award for 10 rail sportspersons every year.
*A wagon factory at Sitapali, Odisha, rail coach factory at Palakkad, two additional new coach manufacturing units in Kutch (Gujarat) and Kolar (Karnataka); component factory at Shyamnagar (West Bengal); new coaching terminal at Naihati, the birth place of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
*Freight loading of 1,025 MT targeted; 55 MT more than 2011—12; Passenger growth targeted at 5.4 per cent.
*Passenger earnings to increase to Rs 36,200 crore.
*Gross rail traffic targeted to increase by Rs 28,635 crore to Rs 1,32,552 crore in 2012—13.
Keywords: Rail Budget 2012-13
I think budget is good but more revenue can be generated by railway by remodelling of stations. As there are many stations where there is no proper boundary as a result there is loss of capital from platform tickets. Strict rules to be enforced for tte & rpf for diverging the capital. The most important point is, to bridge the gap between passenger and railway authorities so that they help each other and by making this you can think about the betterment of railways in all posible directions.
Mamta Bannerjee should not ban this supremo budget, if she does it then she's a fool.
it is very interesting in this budget that setting up of an independent Railway Safety Authority as a statutory body.Thanks to ministry that they realise about the safety of passengers.if it is implimented most of the accidents can be controlled.and facilitates passengers journey
For those who believe that the hike of railway fares in the Budget of
2012-13 is insane or unnecessary.
Kindly go through the document attached which will give you an idea of how the increase in fares is in actual importance for the railways to be one of the primary foundation pillars of progress of developing India.
You as a responsible citizen of the country must and should have an open and clear idea of how the democracy is functioning.
Hence, it will be my humble advice to kindly go through the document as I anticipate you all to learn a lot and support the Union Railway minister in his genuine efforts for the greater cause.
**Forward to other fellow responsible citizen of developing India.
What a ridiculous set-up we are in!
It takes too long to remove corrupt politicians from their position
even the evidence against them are so obvious. But a cabinet minister
is sacked overnight just because he proposed a realistic budget
instead of a populist one.
what is the difference between Mamta and communists if she is also hell
bent on eroding the base of a service sector like Railway which is
already in such a precarious situation and badly needs oxygen to
survive. What populism is she crying for if herself attitude is so
antagonistic towards industries and other service sectors which provide
so many jobs which in turn help mitigating poverty? It seems as if she
is also going a communist way and trying to choke all industries and
service sectors.
Populism without nationalism and pragmatism is dangerous.
kudos to the railway minister for this balanced budget. By not succumbing to populist measures he has done a great favor to the travellers of all classes.
rail budget is good....dinesh trivedi should be appreciated but let's
see to what extend it will succeed.......
hike in fares should be supported as those who can afford travelling in
AC First Class can also afford additional 50 rupees.........
gud budget but don't hike fare of general class.
Overall budget is good if we can achieve the schemes like new trains etc.
But 2-30 percent gap is re-considerable.
its a good agenda the hike in fare is accepted if all the other agenda's are met.Its past time Indian Railway introduced cleanliness and hygine in the coches and railway stations.Ac1 is not neat in many trains at least the govt should see to this when they increase the price
wat is that 'ac lounges' all about. when traines are always overcrowded and wen there is such heavy pressure on spaces. how can someone talk about ac 'lounges' for god sake. Populism of the rich, that wat this is. wat one would ideally do is increase the no. of general chair cars and general compartments which are perpetually overcrowded.
Excellent railway budget presented by our mantriji shri Trivedi. fare hike is reasonable as it hasn't been done since ten years.Any criticism from Opposition is a political vendetta. Hats off to 'The Hindu' for its clearcoverage of Railway Budget.
woman security should be more strong by this budget.
From my point of view this is a very decent and well balanced railway budget. The railway fare hike is expected and affordable and distributed very nicely keeping in mind the socioeconomic status of every passenger irrespective rich or poor. The overall development of our railway tracks and security system was very urgent and the steps taken in this budget is quite welcoming. The avenues of employment generation is also very good step taken in this budget. The increase in the speed of trains and the number of trains along with the safety precautions is really excellent step by the rail ministry. The Railway minister has taken the right step to put forward the railway system into a next generation developed system. We can say he has done something good for this country and setting an example of true patriotism by making a budget by thinking something beneficial for all the people of this country and not thinking for the vote purpose to please the top boss of his own party.
Balanced Budget.
But hope increase in platform ticket will work out and platforms can be make better.
Most of the MPs opposed for hike of fare in all class. one of the MP
from TMC tweets that hike in higher class ok but all class? sorry i dont
agree. why he was agreed for hike in higher class because these people
only traveled in Ist class with free of cost. thatswhy that MP agree for
hike in high class. People of India are agree for hike fare but those
who are not traveled in train, that people wants rollback of fare hike.
Compare to Bus fare this is nothing.
Mr. Dinesh Trivedi has shown his knowledge including experience towards people in Rail Budget 2012, keeping development on Future Focus. As per people already said above, it is a fair and balanced budget. However, there are always some amendments possible for poor section of society. Why it became a highlighter to ask Mr. Dinesh to resign? There is always a scope of improvement. Matters can be resolved when leaders discuss the matter together. I failed to understand a letter from Ms. Mamta Banerjee sent overnight, made Mr. Dinesh Trivedi resign from his position. Discussion overnight can expel anybody from the job(a person like Railway Minister). Amazed to note, decisions are taking place in India at such a short notice. I believe in Indian government decisions, it requires a reason for every action that is taking place.
How can one say if the new person appointed is going to utilize the Railway funds in the correct proportion.
The PM should see to it that no one plays politics when it comes to development of the Railways and also keeping in mind the public safety. The Railways has to increase the cost of travel at least now to reduce losses, but at the same time it should provide more comfort and safety to the public. Let us hope that our dream comes true.
Overall good and balanced budget.But Why North East is being neglected? Just because it doesn't have much MP to make effect in parliament. People of NE is part of India.
The hike in the fares are welcome as the time demands it. Safety cannot be ignored and it needs money. With center not releasing sufficient cash for Railway Ministry, it needs to be pooled out from users' pocket. But what is most expected is that we should not compromise on safety, hygiene and good quality of food. As on today the condition of these non-negotiables in railways are going berserk and they need urgent notice. Kudos to Mr. Dinesh Tiwari for his bold decision. We expect a lot from him in terms of class of service on board in trains
The budget sounds good but there can be more emphasis on increasing the trains on such routes which have more number of waiting list of passengers. Also fare should not be hiked that much at least for sleeper class.
Why does everyone want to penalise the rich. only 5 paise has risen so a
1000 kms journey 50 Rs would increase. Consider the cost of inputs which
have increased for the railways. We donot need another liability on the
government now.
This is a wonderful forward looking budget. There is a lot of things to be left done, however this is a good starting point. Mamta Banerjee should stop running the Railways from Kolkatta and allow it to be run from New Delhi. Fare increase is a must and it was extremely well handled by the minister. We cannot move forward, if we keep harping on holding onto same prices. A biggest example is the electicity situation in Tamil Nadu. Since the price raise never happened in a long long time, people are paying the price now with no electricity at all. When Ms Jayalalitha increased the prices last time around 8 years back, due to 2004 electoral reverses, they were brought back and today the entire state is paying the price without electricity. The DMK government did nothing
A well balanced and time needed budget! only missing is he should have presented also how much has been achieved since last year budget as we always have this promises and blah blah but at the end it just on paper...our politician should have progress report card too and during election it should be placed by election commisioner in public domain. But anyway all kudos to Trivediji, he has shown what a minister should be. Hopefully all minister will join hand in name of nation developement rather than pulling his leg.
Train service should benefit common man,no doubt;but it does not mean the fare
should always low.At times Railways should also act like corporate entities.That is at the time of large demand like festival seasons,there must be increase in rates.This will avoid congestion of traffic and people will plan trips to places of interest when fares are low.The movie theaters also adopt such increased charges when there is demand.Why not Railways?
A good balanced practical budget.congrts to the minister and his team.Keep it up.Time loss is a big loss for all the passengers ex Howrah chennai superfast train diverts to vishakhapatnam from duvvada and returns back to duvvada ie main line towards chennai lossing atleat 1 hour for each of the passenger travelling to chennai.Encourage local trains from Duvvada to Vishakapatnam.Eliminate these luxuries/political populist policies found at many places.If mamata dares to remove the minister,her south count would also start.Allow persons to think independently, let them serve too.
Overall it can be rated 60% positive. There are disappointments as it
lacks time frame in crucial aspects like Indian Railway Stations
Development Corp,National High speed Rail Authority, Bio Toilets, etc.
It has given no impetus or stimulus to Agriculture Sector.
We all are supporting this increase in price by saying this was long overdue. Consider a poor man traveling from Bihar/UP to Mumbai. Also, consider the effect of price rise on other goods. Tickets should not cost more for general/2nd class sleeper. The money should have been recovered from AC classes by increasing fair more proportionately.
This budget is not favorable for the common men.........
If they are really targetting safety and modernziation..then its a welcome budget ..even if its coming at a cost.
A balanced budget...as everyone has already mentioned earlier. Price
hike is ok. The focus on the two glaring problems of sanitation and
safety is justified. It is now to be seen how far the Government meets
up to it.
hike in fare is neccessary ...nd its ok its comes after long tym not every 2 month like petrol..more importantly its a professional budget not political...but thing is that the promises made by railway minister should be taken care.
True to his name 'Dinesh', Lord Of the Day.
A brave politician, an excellent Minister and a job (Railway Budget) well done!
Mamta Banerjee started disowning her own party people and her own
Government. Budget was presented by her Party person. It's is very
decent budget. Government (please read it's not only politicians also
Government employees and people involved in) trying for good (Safety,
Hygiene, Creating Employment directly and indirectly, friendship with
neighbor countries, trying to provide facilities to compete World
Standards and etc.,) and corrupted politicians started checking where
they can earn more. Thank You Mr. Trivedi and his support team .... :)
Is it Indian Railways or West Bengal railways to which the minister is
responsible? A sleeping, dull city gets 50 services additionally and
Chennai which is badly in need of complete upgrading and overhauling
of the all modes of transport doesn't get the much required support.
The familiar saying of "vadakku valargirathu! therku theigirathu!!"
(meaning north is shining and developing and south is perishing and
being ignore) is once again proved right. `hope at least in the days
of third front rule after next parliament elections, south gets its
due share...
Balanced budget, there should be a monitering team to get this done on time... Safety and cleanliness should be given priority.
Well, for once Dinesh Trivedi has stood up to the people trying to
kill India. Spinster Mamata & the man of hordes of children, Lalu, who
both tried to kill the railways, are against him. Let people rise as
one & support the realistic budget. No roll back should be demanded or
allowed. Fare hike for 1000 KM in 3tier sleeper class is just Rs.
50/-. The hikes of AC coaches are affordable as they are for higher
class people. We should find some ways to reduce congestion in second
class ordinary bogies. We have to change our way of life by travelling
less & light. Let the railways give top priority to safety, food &
clean toilets for passengers. These are always promised but never even
tried as none of the ministers, MPs, MLAs, railway, IAS & IPS officers
travel in sleeper class. Make it compulsory for these people only to
travel by ordinary second class / sleeper class & ban issue of higher
class tickets to them. This will help in cleaning the coaches &
toilets.
Thank you for a budget which does not sound unrealistic. Only hope is
that Mr. Trivedi makes sure that all these proposals are actually
implemented and not just like the usual empty promises that we have
become accustomed to.
again a useless budget is produced by UPA govt (u can say TMC). Nothing special in this rail budget. Although rail fare is hiked by few paise there is no any masures taken place for the safety of passengers. Increasing the cost of platform tickets is totally wrong coz we all have to wait for a long at platform due to late running of several trains. If they want to increase the price then they have to increase the duration of time too. In my opinion its not a good budget for railway.
i am happy to see the various changes that honourable railwy minister has introduced in the budget. all this looks very fine while on paper but the provisioning of these facilities not only requires a strong planning but after implementation, efforts will have to be made to maintain these services in the up-to-date manner also.in some routes people do not understand the meaning of such provisions nor do they take care in helpng maintain these facilities so that other passengers are not affected.i hope and pray that these changes prove fruitful for the railways and for travellers as well.
A very much balanced budget. Seems that some people are making needless
noise about it to gain spotlight attention. Anyway, kudos to the union
rail minister.
We do not need these bullock cart trains. We need bullet trains. Please bring them. It is a pain to spend days and nights in these 19th century trains.
fair is hiked but there is no option 4 passenger who travel in general class...no facility 4 the just stupid a comman man ...petty but strange ...
Well done. atleast this time the fare hiked duly giving low dosage to poor and high dosage to rich passengers, unlike uniform increase as was done hitherto. At the same time there must be utmost care to be taken for clean and green travel.
Considering the fact that a better safety,sanity and employment are provided the increase in fair is not inappropriate.
Mr. Dinesh Trivedi has presented a good Budget. Increase in the fair is
the demand of time. Number of good points have been focused but security
for women's is missing.
Good efforts for passengers such as escalators at major stations,
alternative train accommodation for wait-listed passengers, laundry
services, AC lounges, coin/currency operated ticket vending machines and
On board passenger displays indicating next halt station and expected
arrival time.
Totally agree with the Minister with the price hike. Probably it is the only area where Travel has become cheaper day by day over the last few years in comparison to inflation. How do you accommodate so long , if the current state of hygiene conditions of our coaches are in such a pathetic condition, it is because of funds. We seems to have a wish of a Five Star Accommodation , Hospitality at a Charitable Institution. Am sure every one would vouch for this .
I am pleased with the Railway Budget especially by the comment of the Railway Minister that Country comes first...Let's see how this party politics play its role but I'm happy to see the changes that Mr Dinesh Trivedi has proposed in the railway budget. The key highlights for me are: employment of 1 lac people, a proposal to manage the train stations like airports with escalators & ac lounges, all unmanned level crossings to be abolished in the next 5 yrs, bio toilets, & passenger display...Way to go India...!!
nice and balanced rail budget, passenger fare hike was required as
to get the pending projects completed, cleaning of trains platforms,
safty and security , salary for newly joined staff and many more,
overall good and friendly.
Indian Railways is our pride. This year budget comes as a surprise with so much of emphasis on cleanliness, safety and security. The bio toilet initiative is welcome. Hope atleast 50% of this years budget initiatives by the railway ministry will be implemented. We had so much of promises in last years budget, but in vain. We should have a mechanism in place to know the actual outcomes of the new initiatives and there progress. The present state of the last years budget promises should be presented with the current years budget. Every year new initiatives and promises are made by the railway ministry which are never met.
very worst budget
Instead of announcing more trains the frequency of the trains should have been increased. Anyway it is indeed commendable that the budget have taken care for the basic necesssity, Next time Indians expect a budget which take care of increasing the freequency and am wishing all the goodness for the implementation of a succesful budget
Increase in fare is inevitable.But,instead of increse per km slab rate could have been proposed as the fare is fixed per slab only.thus long distance passengers will have some relief
this hike in fare is a big burden on common men...
When they add more compartments on the ordinary trains it will reduce
more congestion in the trains. And also frequent trains for most
required routes make passengers attract more passangers and also improve
the comfort level of passangers.
Overall the budget is good.The fare hike was the demand of
time.However, instead of only increasing the no.& frequency of trains
more emphasis is necessary to improve existing services.troubles to passengers from unauthorised sellers,beggers & Hijra's are reached at
peak but railway dept.is neglecting it knowingly.Many platforms are
without coach position display,that position should be improved.
A fair and balance budget.Mr Trivedi focused on sanitation and safety is
a welcome step.
The attempt made by the current railway budget with regard to the
aspects of safety and cleanliness is very commendable.
India has fourth largest railway network in the world but it lacks
modernisation. Indian railways must adopt a result oriented approach
wherein we have bullet train technology in our system. As a result of
which ,the reduction in the travel time can be transformed to a greater
number of trips by a single train in turn catering to the demand of
increasing population.
No train has been provided between Jaynagar and Mumbai. A large nubmer of
people from these areas are facing a lot of problems because a train between
Mumbai and Darbhanga always showing waiting list 800 and above on the opening
day of booking.
Mamta Banerjee is opposing fare hike.She is opposing everything.
From where funds will come for railways development.
The open discharge toilets on trains to be replaced with green (bio) toilets? You mean, we can now cross the tracks without having to look down?
The hike of fares are unavoidable,for the past ten years no hike in the
fare. If the fare has not been rise the railway will be in trouble,like
the Tamil Nadu transport. Even it is a public firm with out having
sufficient money how they can execute the projects.so we expect the best
service from The world's second largest railway.
Even though the harassment to the women passengers is increasing day by day, especially in Kerala, nothing has been mentioned on that and no measures have been taken to overcome it..!!
Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav used claim that under his care, Railways earned over Rs. 25,000/- crores a year as profit. How come that after his tenure, Railways have started losing out?
Or, as Lalu's claim a bluff?
...still nothing for north-east
Dear .. I think that Shri Dinesh Trivedi should be Prime Minister.
Finance Budget to be presented by him.
Ajoy - Do not deviate from the topic of Rail Budget by dragging religion into the discussion.
Dear All..
All Railway Deptt should be take the strict action against those
agitator whose block the trains.
The Honourable Minister has shown good intentions to improve the working
of Indian Railways. What needs to be seen is how much of his talk gets
implemented.
Very balanced budget is presented by our Hon. Minister. More focus on
the security rather the announcing new projects. There are lot of
pending projects announced by our previous minister which are yet to be
completed. Nothing has been done about the Anti-collision Device to
avoid the Train collision.
the increase in fares are acceptable because the fares untouched for the eight years. but if the authorities look for WITHOUT TICKET PASSNEGERS, it will be helpful for the revenue as well for the smooth practice.
the govt. should ban or eliminate the thousands of Unions in the Railway and should make a strict warnings that none of the station walls to be used for posting bills of their ads.
A moderate bt good budget indeed. Fare hike was due for a long time. It's good to see that passenger security and cleaniness are considered more importantly. Now Mamata Di and those moron Communists should leave cheap popularism and concentrate on Indian Railways health rather to keep it in a place such that we will continue to feel proud about it as we did in past.
All balanced budget but as a technocrat my opinion is there should also
be a special attention towards improving the efficiency and quality of
trains.And hence the security will take care of itself.
In difficult situation Rail Minister Mr. Dinesh Trivedi has presented
commendable rail budget. Many new trains have been announced. Stress has
been laid on Safety. Congrats Dinesh Bhai and Mamta Banerjee, CM of West
Bengal. Narayan Jain
A fine and balanced budget, the increase in the railway price after a gap of 9 years is justified , if we want railway to compete world class we need profitable railway and the price hike is not huge , its minimum and also a lot of attention is paind on hygiene and safety of the trains which always have been a major source of concern . I support Mr.Trivedi and he should not succumb to the opposition demand and i second with PMO indeed , it's a forward looking budget which is focuses more on modernization rather than appealing votebank .
:)
prAts
Its good to see that the budget focusses on passenger saftey and cleanliness .. I am hearing these for the first time in a rail budget.. generally it confines to new routes and fares only... Kudos.
It is well designed budget, if this words turns into action within specified time frame.
I support the fare hike. Because, it is essential and need of the hour.
I welcome the move for the importance given to Safety,Security ans Sanitation.
I hope this will improve the performance of railway and reduce the Rail accident related deaths.
Previous budget commitments yet to completed.For example, coimbatore-Dindigul broad gauge is going on and on.
I hope this year it will not be the same.
Wishes for the people who worked behind the screen
and who is going to continually work behind the screen..
Indian Railway is not only the minister but,it includes the man who cleans and sweeps the station.
May this year be benificial to workers as well as passengers.
Thanks to minister for presenting this budget.
Fare Hike was long due,so that's OK. No dead line has been given when things like "Indian Railways Stations Development Corp to be set up to re-develop stations and maintain them like airports" and "Double-decker container trains to be introduced" will done. Is it a promise never to be fulfilled?
A remarkable budget proposal which takes care of most of the sections of society Vijay Gupta
1)increase in fare should have been slab wise,i.e.upto 500km...2p/km,next 1000 m ..3p/km and so on as was the prev. trend of setting fare structure slab wise.
2) running time should be maintained for existing train time table rather than adding new trains as it reduces track maintenanc time .((for example Azad hind train for pune from Howarah starts in morning 4 am rather than 10.50pm prev night after the accident of jnaneswari exp in 2009/10)).av late running between hwh/bombay -4 hrs via allahabad.
3)plateform tkt should have priced for Rs 1 as people will gladly buy it as existing fare for 24 km is rs 4.
4) not to add so many authority rather to have one think tank in railway design organisation
5) to stop unauthorised entry of passengers in reserved coaches.
The Best i have ever since since the age of 18.
regards.
Fare increase has been due for an inappropriately long time. Instead of increasing the number of trains, why not cancel a few? The trains that run once a week increases confusion, and they ought to be canceled. Why should not one eliminate the number of trains, which cater to the destinations of pilgrimage. Visits to those towns reinforces superstition and religious sectorian tendencies.
I'm pleased with the budget, for it had acknowledged the importance of
passenger safety unlike others. The need for substantiate financing of
our railways is to be taken seriously by the Government. Many promises
were made by Mamata herself, but in vain. I hope and seriously wish that
Railways remains as our pride always.
Concerning on the core issues ,like giving contract to standard food contractors,services,clean toilets must be given first priority.
A Balanced Budget. Credit to the Minister that he did not succumb to
populist temptation. For the first time, so much focus on cleanliness
and Safety and Security. Would have liked lesser increase and special
concessions for students.
There is no scope for comfort for the passengers travelling by general class.
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