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Prashanth Tapse
Mehta Equities

Railway Budget for 2013-2014. Bansal underlined the need for the Indian Railways to remain financially sustainable, especially at times when resources are scarce and losses on train operations continue to mount.

Despite a hike in fuel prices, Bansal did not announce a hike in passenger fares, the cost of which will be to the tune of Rs 850 crore. However, he did propose to hike the reservation fee for superfast trains and the tatkal charges.

Bansal called for a paradigm shift on tariff and freight policy and the faster expansion of the rail network. Furthermore, Bansal stated that resource constraints cannot be used as an excuse for poor service and committed to bring about a market change in amenities.

Here is a look at other provisions introduced by the Rail Minister in the Budget.

FY14 Budget:

Rail land development authority allocation Rs 1,000 crore
FY13 railway losses seen at Rs 24,600 crore Vs Rs 22,500 crore year ago
12th Plan:

12th Plan gross budgetary support Rs 194,000 crore
12th Plan rail market borrowing pegged at Rs 120,000 crore
General:

Share from central road fund Rs 1,100 crore Vs Rs 5,000 crore needed
Number of trains up from 8,897 in 2001-2002 to 12,335 in 2011-2012
Raising Rs 95,000 crore for the next 4 years
Arunachal Pradesh brought under RAIL network
Safety & Modernisation:

To make 10-year corporate plan for rail safety
Plan to introduce corporate safety plan for 10 years from 2014
Train protection warning system to be implemented
To work towards zero-accident situation
Freight:

1,500 km to be awarded for dedicated freight corridor FY14
FY14 freight loading estimated 1,007 million tonne
To enter 1 billion tonne freight carrying club
Infrastructure:

Seek states co-operation to increase public-private partnership
Target of Rs 1 lakh crore set aside for participation via PPP
New routes & Trains
Working on new railway line in Manipur
Facilities:

To put in place next generation e-ticketing system by Dec 2013
New system to enable booking 7,200 tickets/min Vs 2,000 now
SMS alerts for reservation status being rolled out
Plan free Wi-Fi facility onboard trains
To extend internet booking timing from 00:30 IST to 23:30 IST
Look forward to use Aadhar services for Railways
To introduce 1 luxury 'Anubhuti' coach in express trains
To identify 60 more railway stations as model stations
To set up 8-10 more mechanised laundries for rail linen
To set up 8 women railway police units in addition to the existing 4