Railway Budget focuses on passengers amenities, new trains introduced

Date : Jul-03-2009 14:24

* Railways will develop multi-functional complexes with shopping malls, food stalls, medicines and variety stores in different parts of the country.

* Railways to develop cold storages for farmers to store vegetables and fruits.

* Infotainment services will be offered in main long-distance trains.

* In addition, on long distance trains one doctor will be posted.

* Railways to introduce 67 new trains all over the nation.

* Development and special facilities will be provided to 309 stations out of 375 across the nation.

* Unreserved ticketing terminals to be extended from 5000 to 8000. Automatic ticket vending machines will also be increased. Besides, there will be arrangement with Department of Posts for issuance of tickets.

* SMS updates to be offered for passengers to check train status and reservation status.

* Auto-vending machines to be installed in large and medium stations.

* High-capacity air-conditioned double-decker trains to be initiated on select inter-city routes.

* An Integrated Security System is being developed for 130 vulnerable stations to provide security to passengers.

* Seven nursing colleges will be started on railway land in places including Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

* With rail hospitals, Railway medical colleges to be developed on public-private partnership.

* E-ticket cancellation system to be simplified.

*18,000 wagons to be acquired during the present year.

* There will be aim to takeover of sick wagon manufacturing units like Burn Standards with Department of Heavy Industries.

* Railways will launch new policy for construction and operation of private freight terminals.

* Superfast parcel express trains to be started between Delhi and Chennai and Delhi and Mumbai on a pilot basis.

* A new coach factory to be set up at Kanchrapara in West Bengal with state-of-the-art facilities, entirely for manufacturing 500 coaches per annum. Work on coach factory in Rae Bareli to be speeded up.

* Railways to set up a 1000 MW power plant.

* Freight loading target for 2009-10 set at 882 million tonnes, rise of 39 million tonnes.

* In suburban trains, ladies'' specials to be initiated during peak hours.

* Railways will receive an additional budgetary support of Rs 5000 crore in the current year.

* Qazigund-Anantnag rail section in Kashmir planned be completed by August.

* Senior officials will be there to monitor execution of national rail projects to ensure their timely completion.

* Minimum Tatkal fee has been reduced from Rs 150 to Rs 100. Tatkal fee will be a percentage of the fair.

* Several new trains are planned will be started with objective to the increase in frequency of trains in key routes.

* ‘Turant’ trains to be introduced, which will be non-stop point-to-point non-air conditioned trains.

*‘Yuva’ trains for young generation to be introduced.