Railway Budget By Mamta Bannerjee

After 5 long years, somebody other than Lalu Yadav has presented the Railway Budget. Mamta Bannerjee did so, today in the Parliament's Budget Session. She presented a host of sops as well as some economic-driven budgeting. Here are the key highlights:

• No hike in freight rates


• No increase in passenger fares across classes


• Tatkal scheme to be reduced from 5 days to 2 days


• 12 new 'Duronto' AC sleeper trains between major metros

1. New Delhi-Jammu Tawi (tri-weekly)


2. Howrah-Mumbai AC (bi-weekly)


3. Mumbai-Ahmedabad AC (tri-weekly)


4. Chennai-Delhi (bi-weekly)


5. New Delhi-Lucknow (tri-weekly)


6. Delhi-Pune AC (bi-weekly)


7. Howrah-Delhi (bi-weekly)


8. New Delhi-Allahabad (tri-weekly)


9. Sealdah-New Delhi (bi-weekly)


10. Kolkata-Amritsar (bi-weekly)


11. Bhubaneshwar-Delhi (weekly)


12. Ernakulam-Delhi (weekly)

• Non-stop AC 'Durant' trains to be introduced


• 1000 MW power plant with NTPC on Bengal-Jharkhand border


• Kolkata Metro to get more extensions


• Ladies Special to be extended to Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi


• Metro concession in Kolkata to minority students


• Press correspondents to get 50% concession


• Cold storage facilities for farmers to store produce


• New scheme called 'Izzat' for low-income monthly travel where a monthly pass of Rs.25/- will be issue to travel upto 100kms


• New coach factory to be set up in Kanchrapara in Bengal


• Mega logistics hubs in Eastern and Western corridor


• Launch of premium parcel service between 3 stations


• New policy to allow private freight terminal


• Railways to lease out land for commercial purposes


• Special recruitment drive to fill up physically challenged posts


• Metro Rail Hospital in Tollygunj to be upgraded


• Hospitals to be developed for railway staff


• Colleges on railway land through public-private partnership


• Girl child scholarship for Group B Railway employees


• To increase number of women commandos in key routes


• Ramps, special bogeys for physically challenged passengers


• To introduce double-decker AC coaches for inter-city travel


• Passengers can buy tickets from Post Offices


• SMS update on waitlisted tickets


• Automatic ticket vending machines in 200 stations


• Ticketing services in 200 new towns and cities


• Infotainment services in Rajdhani, Shatabdi


• 49 stations of religious importance to be upgraded


• To introduce ambulance facilities in long-distance trains


• Depute one doctor in long-distance trains


• Specially designed coaches for handicapped passengers


• Book stores, PCOs to be set up across stations


• Multi-functional complexes for railway users at stations


• Toilet facilities for women at stations


• Public-private partnership to develop stations


• 309 out of 370 stations identified for development


• CST Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Howrah, Sealdah to be developed


• Develop 50 stations as world-class


• To lay stress on platform and train security, catering


• Expert committee on socially unviable projects to be set up

All in all, looks like a good populist budget that will make everyone happy.