JOIN USRaliway Budget evokes mixed reaction
The Railway Budget drew a mixed response from people at the New Delhi railway station on Thursday.
“I think the Narendra Modi government will deliver on big promises, but the first priority should be on improving the basic infrastructure and food and hygiene. Bullet trains can wait,” said Surendra Gupta, 49, a businessman from Kanpur, on NDA government’s promise of bullet trains not coming through.
Kartar Singh, 31, who works for the Indian territorial army argued that Railway Minister did the right thing by focusing on enhancing train speed, instead of promising new trains.
“No matter how many new trains are brought on the tracks, they will keep running late. In winters, the trains run as late as 15-16 hours,” he told Deccan Herald.But his co-traveller Vijendra Singh inquired whether the budget addresses the chronic problem of long waiting list in popular trains.
“I recommend they stop taking bookings after a certain point. In trains like Rajdhani, one can’t travel with a wait-listed ticket. So why leave the passengers hanging?”
Raju, 21, who is a migrant worker from Bihar, suggested that more coaches should be added to trains to handle the festive rush. “Getting a confirmed ticket without paying the touts is difficult. I don’t think the announcement for making bookings available 120 days in advance instead of 60 days will be sufficient to tackle the tout menace,” he said.
However, the ‘passenger-friendly initiatives’ quoted in this year’s Railway budget managed to strike a chord with commuters.
“It’s refreshing that the government went for no new train and no fare hike. Clean toilets, better catering and safety had to be put over anything else,” said Delhi resident Sushma Nanda, 34. She added that there should be female security officers deployed in every coach for safety of women.
Her husband, Sumit Nanda said the SMS alert system announced by the government will save the hassle of checking arrival and departure timings on the internet.
Prashant Jha, 23, a Delhi University student welcomed the idea of having Wi-Fi on the stations, but said that the BJP-led government should first deliver on giving railway stations a facelift. “There is a need for escalators, more fans and benches to sit on. If this doesn’t happen here, where else can it?” he added.