Railway Budget 2014-15 Highlights
Union Railways Minister Sadananda Gowda presented the Rail Budget in the Parliament 8
July, 2014.Here are the highlights:
● Grateful to honourable PM Narendra Modi ji for having given me this opportunity and for entrusting me with this responsibility
● Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom
● It gives me immense pleasure to present my first Railway Budget flooded with suggestion for new trains, new railway lines
● We now target to become the largest freight carrier in the world
● Indian railways carry only 31% of the total freight in the country. It is a challenge we have to face
● 5 lakh crore required each year for the next ten years for ongoing projects alone
● 23 paisa lost per passenger per km in 2012-13
● Social obligation of Railways in 2013-14 was Rs. 20,000 crore
● Focus on sanctioning projects rather than completing them
● The more projects we add the thinner we spread our resources
● I can get claps from this house by announcing many new projects but that would be rendering injustice to the struggling organization
● The fare revision was tough but a necessary decision - it will bring Indian Railways an additional revenue of 8,000 crores
● Indian Railways carries more than the entire population of Australia in a day
● Populist projects and mismanagement have brought Railways to point of funds crunch
● This state of affairs in railways needs immediate course correction
● Gross traffic receipts in 2013-14 was Rs. 1.3 lakh crore, operating ratio was 94 per cent
● Indian Railways spent Rs. 41,000 crore on laying of 3,700 km of new lines in last 10 years
● Need to explore alternative sources of resource mobilisation and not depend on fare hike alone
● Large part of the budget outlay to go to safety projects
● Maximum financial outlays for projects slated for completion in this area itself
● High priority areas - safety, cleanliness, passenger amenities and capacity augmentation
● Future projects to be financed on public-private partnership model
● Plans to attract investment from domestic and foreign players in infrastructure; focus to be on aggressive indigenisation
● FY15 Total Expenditure Pegged At Rs.1.49 lakh crore
● FY15 total receipts pegged at Rs.1.64 lakh crore
● Propose to hike budgetary plan outlay to Rs.47,650 crore
● FY15 passenger fare revenue pegged at Rs.44,600 crore
● Pre-cooked meals by reputed brands, focus on cleanliness and passenger feedback
● Outsource cleaning activities at 50 major stations, separate housekeeping wing for cleanliness and sanitation
● CCTVs to be used for monitoring cleanliness
● RO Drinking water at stations and trains
● Corporates encouraged to adopt stations for better maintenance and upkeep
● 17,000 Railway Protection Force personnel to be available soon
● Introduction of women RPF constables, coaches meant for women to be escorted for greater safety
Bullet train:
● Indian Railways on course to fulfill its long cherished dream. I propose a Bullet train on the Ahmedabad - Mumbai sector
● Higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by upgrading the present network
● 23 projects underway in North-East. Propose to allocate higher funds than previous year for these projects
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