Eyeing - Railway Budget

It really gets tough to summarize a budget especially when its belongs to Ministry of Railways. The sheer reason is because railways is gigantic with components innumerable often losing its own measures. Lots of debates and several pages of documents that actually decide our economic fate(to some extent) for the next fiscal year. After Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav riding the railways it has always been a noticeable speck in everyone’s eye as soon as budget season arrives.

Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, while presenting her third Rail budget, not only kept fares and freight rates untouched, but also promised to invest Rs 57,630 Crore (USD 12.68 billion) in the network in the financial year 2011/12. As expected, she barely attended to the mounting deficit of the transportation institution and instead yielded to gimmicks that befits a politician eyeing the polls—in this case, the West Bengal Assembly. While announcing her Railway Budget, Ms Banerjee said she was optimistic that financial health of the Railways will be revived by FY12. "We will see Rs 5,260 Crore savings in FY12,". Where, on one hand, Banerjee left passenger fares untouched and reduced AC booking charges from Rs 20 to Rs 10. She also announced 85 proposals for PPP and okayed launch of nine new Duranto and three Shatabdi trains. For Mumbai, she proposed  raising capacity to 107 local trains.

“Despite populist measures, Railway budget 2011 was a sheer disappointment for the markets. All railway stocks have reacted to the miserable announcement. Despite announcement of steps on anti-collision, Despite populist measures, Railway budget 2011 was a sheer disappointment for the markets. All railway stocks have reacted to the miserable announcement. Despite announcement of steps on anti-collision, Kernex Microsystems as failed to pick up.  SK Nevatia, CMD, Hind Rectifiers told CNBC-TV18 that Ms Banerjee's propositions are impractical. With so much deficit to manage, her propositions are totally not workable. has failed to pick up.” Quoted by Moneycontrol.

Railways has been one of the key budget session where everyone has his/her eyes glued on. If you want to know what changed and what did not, well you can have a look here.

• No hike in fares of general trains
• Rise in fares of existing Durontos
• Railways is going through a tough phase
• Mumbai harbour line will have fast lane
• Fares of 17 trains will increase
• Concession to senior male citizens raised to 40% from 30%
• 47 additional services on Mumbai suburban section
• To introduce 56 new trains in FY-12
• To start Kabi Guru Express on the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindrnath Tagore.
• Train to run to Bangladesh to showcase Indian culture
• Start of student special trains
• Start of Rajrani Express
• AC double decker rail on Jaipur-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai.
• 9 new Duronto trains
• 50 new services for suburbs in Kolkata
• Need for efficient taxation of goods and services by GST
• Improve convergence of social and financial inclusion schemes
• To launch 3 new Shatabdi trains in FY 12
• 50%concession for Journalists and their families upto two times in a year
• Senior citizen concession for women now on 58.
• Concession to be provided to the handicapped in Rajdhani and Satapdi Express.
• FDI in multi brand retail worth considering.
• Proposed to strengthen suburban system in Hyderabad and many areas.
• Scholarship schemes for low income groups
• Will introduce trolleys at railway stations
• Loss of Rs 2,000 crore because of ban on transportation of iron ore.
• Medical facilities to be provided to parents of railway staff
• Special AC class with better facilities to be intoduced.
• Will introduce trolleys at railway stations
• Railways taking austerity measures to cut losses
• Expected operating ratio is 91:1
• Online booking of tickets to be cheaper
• Kolkata Metro to expand its network
• Work on upgrading 442 stations to be completed by March 31
• All-India security helpline set up.
• Railways earning are set to increase, expected to cross Rs 1 lakh crore.
• Will add 180 km of rail lines in 2011-12
• Upgraded class of air conditioned travel to be introduced shortly
• Facing problems due to Sixth Pay Commission
• Paid full dividend for 2009-10
• Giving share to industries to invest in railways
• Multiple discipline training centres to be setup across country
• 16,000 ex-servicemen to be recruited by Railways
• Setup two new passenger terminals in Kerala
• To construct 172 rail over bridges in FY12.
• To give 12,000 acre for dedicated freight corridor.
• 1,500 trains cancelled, 3,500 re-scheduled last year
  Recruitment there was a backlog. Steps have been taken to fill all vacancies.
• Saved Rs 300 crore by re-aligning rail tracks
• Booking rate slashed by 50%
• Providing 12000 acres to east-west freight corridor
• Better accessibility of stations for the physicaly challenged people to be arranged.
• Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojna to be launched
• Safety first priority; accident rate has come down
• Anti collision devices deployed in 8 zones
• Work on wagon factory in Orissa to begin after land is acquired
• To do away with all unmanned railway crossings in FY-12
• To raise Rs 10,000 cr via tax free bonds
• Annual plan at FY12 at Rs 57,630 crore.
• Market borrowring at Rs20,594 cr
• Doubling spend to gauge conversion at Rs 2,470 crore
• Gross budgetary support at Rs 20,000 crore
• Set up 700MW gas-based power plant in Maharashtra
• Working on 1000 MW captive power plant in Bihar
• Aiming 700-km of line addition
• 1,320 MW thermal plant in Agra and 1,300 MW plant in AP
• Diesel locomotive at Manipur
• New industrial park at Bongaigaon & Nandigram
• Two more wagon units in JV mode in Kerala
• Imphal to be connected with rail network
• To set up new coach factory in Kolar
• Metro coach factory in Singur
• Two thermal power plants on the annual 
• Mamata Banerjee presents Railway Budget in Lok Sabha.
• To set up rail based industries by 2020.
• Got 85 proposals for PPP.
• High demands for coach, wagons can't be met immediately
• To set up single window PPP approval
• One metro coach factory in Kolkata