×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Prabhu puts service, safety on track

Last Updated 26 February 2015, 20:57 IST

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his maiden budget on Thursday, sparing passengers from a fare hike while raising freight rates and announcing a slew of measures to improve service quality, safety and reach.   

More importantly, Prabhu set a precedent by not announcing new trains or appeasing political constituencies, thereby making a departure from the populist budgets of his predecessors.     
He outlined a road map to transform the Railways by mobilising huge resources from the market, both domestic and international, which was described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “watershed moment”.   

Prabhu envisaged an increase in carrying capacity from 2.1 crore to 3 crore passengers per day and track length of 20 per cent. In the process, the public carrier would become financially self-sustainable by generating a large surplus.    

“This is not a budget for a party or anyone else. This is a budget only for the Railway,” Prabhu remarked to underscore why he kept away from “populism” and launch of new trains till track capacity was evaluated.     

Prabhu made no mention of any revision in freight tariff in his speech, as has been the norm in the past, but the rate stood revised upward between 2.1 per cent and 10 per cent, not sparing even commodities like grain, pulses, urea and coal.   

Prabhu pegged a 52 per cent jump in the plan outlay for 2015-16 at  Rs 1,00,011 crore, projecting a 16.7 per cent growth in passenger earnings and 13.5 per cent in freight.
The minister also proposed a 46.5 per cent increase in market borrowings to bridge the fiscal gap. Prabhu made it clear that he wanted the Railways to minimise its dependence on budgetary support.  

Goodies for the common man such as better ticketing facilities, e-catering, comfortable berths, clean bed linen and ease of travel for the differently-abled and senior citizens were also announced.  
 
Nine more high-speed trains, faster existing trains, user-friendly ladders to mount upper berths and CCTV cameras for safety of women passengers were among the other highlights of the budget.

For the differently-abled, a special initiative is being launched where they can purchase concessional e-tickets after a one-time registration.  

He said the number of mobile phone charging points would be increased in general coaches as well, amid cheers from his colleagues in Parliament.  Better food facilities and water dispensers will be brought in at stations, Prabhu said. As part of the Digital India initiative, Wi-Fi will be made available at Category B stations as well. The Wi-Fi facility would be available in 400 stations.

With cleanliness being a major issue, Prabhu said steps would be taken to introduce vacuum toilets in trains. He said that 17,000 bio-toilets would be replaced gradually.

The minister also promised a vastly improved operating ratio, which spells out how much money is spent on day-to-day operations to earn revenues–an indication of the funds left for safety and expansion.  

Prabhu proposed an operating ratio of 88.5 per cent, the lowest in nine years, down from an unsustainable level of 93.6 per cent in 2013-14 and 91.8 per cent for 2014-15.

 Globally, a 75-80 per cent or lower is seen as a healthy benchmark.    Prabhu ruled out the sale or leasing of surplus land and other assets to mobilise revenue. “We will monetize our resources rather than sell. Business as usual of asking for budgetary support from the Finance Ministry is neither sustainable nor necessary,” he added.

Prabhu said the Railways was drawing up a comprehensive policy to tap the latent advertising potential. “The new strategy would harness all avenues, including offering stations and trains for corporate branding,” the minister said.  

He later clarified that several multilateral and bilateral banking sources were ready to invest in the Railways.

Prabhu announced “Operation Five Minutes” which aims to ensure that a passenger travelling in an unreserved coach would be able to purchase a ticket within five minutes.

He said modified hot-buttons, coin vending machines and single destination teller windows will drastically reduce the transaction time.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 26 February 2015, 20:57 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT