Railway budget 2015.....WILL ''ACHCHE DIN'' COME BACK..OR NOT.....??????????.


Railway Budget also referred as Rail Budget is the Annual Financial Statement of the state Indian Railways, which handles rail transport in India. It is presented every year by the Minister of Railways, representing the Ministry of Railways, in the parliament.The key themes of the Budget were in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives - Swachch Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India.Rs.8.5 lakh crore will be invested in Railways in next 5 years.'Operation 5 mins', wherein passengers travellling unreserved can purchase a ticket in 5 minutes.

What is the investment plan?
The Railway Budget envisages an investment of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore in next five years.
How is it going to be mobilized?
The Minister suggested that the money could be raised from multiple sources - from multilateral development banks to pension funds.
What is the action plan in the sphere fund raising?
Go in for partnership with key stakeholders - States, PSUs, partner with multilateral and bi-lateral organizations other governments to gain access to long-term financing. Also, get technology from overseas. The private sector could be roped in to improve last-mile connectivity, expand fleet of rolling stock and modernize station infrastructure.
What is the thrust?
The thrust will be on revamping management practices, systems, processes, and re-tooling of human resources.
What is the proposal on capacity augmentation?
1. De-congesting networks with basket of traffic-generating projects will be the priority
2. Priority to last-mile connectivity projects
3. Fast-track sanctioned works on 7,000 kms of double/third/fourth lines
4. Commissioning 1200 km in 2015-16 at an investment of Rs. 8,686 crore, 84% higher Y-O-Y.
5. Commissioning 800 km of gauge conversion targeted in current fiscal.
6. 77 projects covering 9,400 km of doubling/tripling/quadrupling works along with electrification, covering almost all States, at a cost of Rs. 96,182 crore, which is over 2700% higher in terms of amount sanctioned.
7. Traffic facility work is a top priority with an outlay of Rs. 2374 crore .
8. Award of 750 km of civil contracts and 1300 km of system contracts in 2015-16 on Dedicated
9. Freight Corridor (DFC); 55 km section of Eastern DFC to be completed in the current year.
10. Preliminary engineering-cum-traffic survey (PETS) for four other DFCs in progress.
11. Acceleration of pace of Railway electrification: 6,608 route kilometers sanctioned for 2015-16, an increase of 1330% over the previous year.

Good things in budget that will help in returning back the dream of ''ACHCHE DIN''.....
  • Better ticketing facilities
  • No rail fare hike
  • An all-India 24X7 helpline number, 138,will become functional to attend to the problems of passengers on a real time basis.keeping in mind the criticality of security related issues, we have dedicated a toll-free number 182 for receiving security related complaints. Railways would utilise resources from the Nirbhaya Fund for augmenting security of our women passengers, 
  • e-catering has been introduced in 108 trains 
  • Mobile phone charging facilities would be provided in general class coaches and the number of charging facilities would be increased in sleeper class coaches. 
  • Wi-Fi at all A1 and A category stations is being provided. Further, as part of Digital India initiative, Wi-Fi will be provided at B category stations as well.So far, 1052 stations have been identified for upgradation of passenger amenities at Station under Adarsh station scheme. 200 more stations will be brought under this scheme. 
  • Railways' Delhi Division is taking up a project for introducing on-board entertainment on select Shatabdi trains on license fee basis. Depending on the response, the facility will be extended on all Shatabdi trains. 
  • Railways propose to create a new department for keeping stations and trains clean. Integrated cleaning will be taken up as a specialized activity, which will include engaging professional agencies and also training staff in the latest cleaning practices.Railways plan to set up 'waste to energy' conversion plants near major coaching terminals to dispose waste in an environment-friendly manner. One pilot plant will be set up, to begin with, followed by more plants in a phased manner. "Bio-toilets are being fitted in coaches. 
  • "Average speed will increase. Trains will become more punctual," 
  • Railways propose to introduce an "SMS Alert" service to inform passengers in advance the updated arrival/departure time of trains at starting or destination stations.Similarly SMS alert would be sent 15/30 minutes in advance of arrival of the train at the destination. 
  • For the safety of women passengers, surveillance cameras will be provided on a pilot basis in selected mainline coaches and ladies' compartments of suburban coaches without compromising on privacy. 
  • Railways will launch a programme to improve design, quality and cleanliness of bed linen within the next six months. Additionally, the facility of online booking of disposable bedrolls at select stations is being extended to all passengers through the IRCTC portal on payment basis 
  • Hand-held terminals will now be provided to Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs), which can be used for verification of passengers and downloading charts.Seamless navigation would be possible across different websites of Railways 
  • More berths will be made available through increase in number of coaches to meet the growing demand for confirmed seats on the trains. Trains, which are fully patronised throughout the year, will be augmented with additional coaches from trains which have relatively lower occupancy levels. 
  • Further, capacity in identified trains will be augmented to run with 26 coaches from the existing 24 coaches. 
  • With a view to providing superior riding experience and about 20% savings in journey time, Railways propose to introduce a 'very modern train system' called train sets. 
  • "These are similar to bullet trains in design and can run on existing tracks without an engine to haul them. For the Railways it would imply higher capacity, greater energy savings and increased throughput, 

At last, the Railway Minister has given a practical budget keeping in mind all ground realities concerning limitations of routes, money, speed, expansion, etc. Not introducing new trains with a view to improve quality of service from existing trains is a very wise decision. The common man should be happy as there is no increase in fares. Some of the concerns such as safety, cleanliness, food quality, hospitality, wi-fi facility in select railway stations, increase of speed of some trains, issue of general tickets, etc are really good decisions. Let us whole-heartedly congratulate PM: Narendramodiji and his team of ministers, especially the railway minister, whose wisdom definitely prevailed in the present budget. Re-organisation of railway zones is also need of the hour to organize systematically all the routes with equality to all regions of India

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