Railway Budget Preview 2008

Union Railway Minister Lalu Yadav presented the Railway Budget for 2008-09 in Parliament on Tuesday.

Following are the highlights:

• Railway profit in 2007-08 at Rs 25,000 crore.
• AC first class fare cut by 7%
• AC 2 tier fare down by 4%
• AC 3 tier fare cut by 3%
• 5% cut in petrol, diesel freight
• Special focus to be given on railway projects in the North Eastern Region
• Route of 16 trains to be extended
• 6 lakh bulbs to be replaced by cfl lamps by railways to save energy
• 2500 old signals to be replaced by railways. Special trains to anandpur sahib, patna sahib and nanded 155 new lines to be completed.
• 50% concession for AIDS patient
• Foot overbridges at all high-level platforms.

• Northern railway main hospital in Delhi will be fully airconditioned. Divisional railway hospitals in Jaipur and Hubli will be upgraded.

• A new rail coach unit to be set up in Kerala

• A 1,000 megawatt captive power plant to be set up in Nabinagar in Bihar

• Ten new Garib Raths and 53 new trains to be introduced.

• Railway tickets to show 'expected time of arrival'

• Thirty per cent discount to senior citizens for rail travel and 50 per cent discount for women in all classes
• Mother Child Health Express to be started.
• Clearance given for western freight corridor from Delhi to JNPT, Nhava Sheva, adjoining Mumbai.
• Close circuit TV and bomb detecting equipment to be installed at major stations.
• Doubling of lines to be given priority.
• Railways planning smart card-based ticketing system.
• CCTvs at all important stations
• Modular toilets to be introduced in trains.

• 'Go Mumbai' card to be sold at bus depots.

• Freight loading estimated to increase from 650 mt to 1100 mt by 2011

• New policy for wagon leasing.

• New line for Ennore Power Station.

• By 2010, all coaches will be made of steel.

• Professional agencies being involved on a pilot basis to ensure cleanliness in running trains.
• Work on automatic signalling to start in new sections.
• Railways to bring in led displays in stations on train arrivals/ departures.

• Stainless steel coaches for mail and express trains.

• Cleanliness drive on rajdhani and shatabdi trains.

• Railways show a surplus of rs 68,778 cr in last four years.

• Railways to provide escalators at 50 per cent of the stations in the country.

• Railway Minister Lalu Yadav announced that Indian Railways will introduce 15,000 ticketing counters in the next 2 years. The Railways plans to offer tickets through mobile phones.

• By 2009 call centre based inquiry services to be unveiled.

• Issuance of wait-listed e-tickets will also allowed

• Operating ratio of the Railways was at 76%.

• Rs 49,250 crore invested into new railway projects.

• Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years.

• Productivity of Railway assets has been constantly increasing.

• Railways attained 790 tonne payload target in the year 2007-08.

• E-ticket booking is likely to rise to 300,000 from 100,000 in a year.

• Freight traffic target of 785 million tonnes crossed to touch 790 million tones

• Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years.

• 560 railway station platforms to be lengthened to take long trains.

• Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters.

• More facilities for women and old passengers.