RAILWAY BUDGET

`Basic thrust is to lure more traffic'
THE 2003-04 Railway Budget appears to be populist, with no increase in fare and freight rates. But, the Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, says the exercise this year was to entice more passenger and freight traffic to the Indian Railways with ... More

Sensex unimpressed; cement shares up
EXCEPT cement shares, the stock market did not cheer the Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar's Budget with many of the major shares losing ground in today's trading. The market sentiment remained poor even though there was no hike in freight ... More

Priority for customer satisfaction
The following are the excerpts of the speech of the Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, in Parliament: Mr Speaker Sir, I rise to present the Budget Estimates for 2003-2004 for the Indian Railways. At the outset, I express my ... More

Chambers' reaction mixed
LEADING chambers of commerce and industry today had a mixed opinion about this year's rail budget proposal. While a few termed it as people and industry-friendly, others called it populist which cannot meet the long-term needs of the economy. ... More

`Good budget' leaves Kerala high and dry
EXPRESSING concern over certain proposals in the Railway Budget, the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that once again Kerala did not figure in the budget despite the fact that the Railway Minister had announced 51 new train services ... More

Bumpy ride for commercial vehicles
EQUITY analysts tracking the commercial vehicles (CV) sector estimate the 2003-2004 Railway budget to have some impact on road freight rates, thereby influencing sales trends in select categories of CVs. Top industry officials felt the budget's ... More

Steel industry hints at passing on benefits
STEEL industry circles reacted positively to Wednesday's Railway budget and indicated that benefits accruing may be passed on to the market. "Overall, this a good Budget from the Railway Minister. First, they have remembered their customers and ... More

Chennai MRTS service extension likely by June
IT is `possible' to start the Thirumailai-Velachery MRTS (mass rapid transport system) service with basic facilities at stations by June 2003, Southern Railway sources said. Reacting to the Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar's announcement today ... More

Few takers for BOT/BOLT routes
THE Railways has virtually given up on private sector investment to finance its Plan outlays. For 2003-04, the Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, has made a provision of just Rs 30 crore under this head, involving a gauge conversion project to be ... More

Freight cost for cement `will be lower by 3.5-4 pc'
RAIL freight costs for the cement industry will decrease around 3.5 per cent to four per cent, following the Railway budget. This will bring considerable savings for the industry majors and also have a cascading effect on road transport costs as ... More

Nitish baits air travellers
ALMOST a year after the domestic aviation industry began wooing rail travellers with reduction in domestic fares varying from 12 to 64 per cent, the Indian Railways is seeking to strike back. The Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, today ... More

Cement majors have the going easy
LARGE cement manufacturers enjoying economies of scale are to particularly gain from the average 3.7 per cent reduction in freight rates (for different distances) on cement announced in the Railway budget. The Railways carry about 33 per cent ... More

No impact seen due to freight reclassification
NOT every one is convinced that the Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar's exercise on the rationalisation of the freight classification deserves unreserved praise. Coal, which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the total freight traffic of the ... More

Petro freight cut to benefit consumers
REDUCTION in railway freight on petroleum products, especially petrol and diesel, will lead to considerable savings for oil marketing companies which in turn are expected to benefit consumers. Oil companies may see roughly seven to eight per ... More

Mixed reaction to Railway Budget
THERE was mixed reaction from the city-based leading chambers of commerce to the Railway Budget presented by the Union Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar. While the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce ... More

Petrol, diesel, LPG freight rates lower
WITH pipelines weaning away petro product traffic from the Railways, this Railway Budget sees a reduction in tariff on transportation of petrol, diesel and LPG between 11 and seven per cent. However, this move may not plug the leak sufficiently. ... More

Foodgrains push up rail revenue
Movement of foodgrains has accounted for over 70 per cent of the Railways additional revenues from freight during the year 2002-03. More

FIEO says Rly Budget lacks special thrust
Even as they welcome the decision to refrain from effecting freight rate increases on commodities, they are aggrieved over the absence of "specific mention" or special attention to exporters' interests in the Railway Budget. "At a time when ... More

Good as long as everything is on track...
THE Railway Minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar, deserves plaudits for pulling out a surprisingly please-all budget for rail users in the broadest sense of the term without compromising on the basic thrust of rationalisation of fares and freight to bring ... More

Long on populism, with just a glimmer of economic sense
The Railways has lost a golden opportunity to raise some resources through a marginal hike of around 5 per cent in passenger fares, which would have helped the system raise Rs 800 crore or so. More

Metros to have mega terminals
THE Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, has proposed to set up mega terminals at all the metro cities in order to ease congestion and bottlenecks. The first amongst them would be developed at Chitpur in Kolkata and Anand Vihar in Delhi. The ... More

Konkan Rly happy with budget
OFFICIALS at the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) were a happy lot, the Railway Budget featuring some positive observations on their line. "The Minister has acknowledged that we are operationally surplus,'' Mr B. Rajaram, Managing ... More

Easier online tracking of cargo on cards
THE Railway Budget's focus on IT-related projects is likely to spur development of the Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) which will enable users to have better logistic management and inventory control. Launched in 2001, the online ... More

Boost to mining sector
THE mining sector is happy with the marginal reduction of railway freight rates for a host of minerals. The industry is also encouraged by the graded concessional rates for distances less than 100 km proposed in the Railway Budget as this will ... More

Between the rails in Nitish's Budget
THESE are days when people have to worry about more than one thing. There is the match where our boys will be tested and roasted. Then, in the North Block, is the `J' man who is not really talking much and so we don't know what's on his mind. In ... More

Steel industry may see healthier bottomline
THE steel industry appears to be happy with the Railway budget announcements, which has reduced its cost of transporting raw materials as well as some of its finished products. For Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), the largest steel-maker ... More

`Positive' for coal sector
THE coal industry in general has welcomed the rail budget. The announcment regarding a 50 per cent concession for freights up to 50 km and bringing down penalties on over loading and under-loading of wagons will bring down their transport cost ... More

Thrust on technology to boost safety
The Railways will deploy microprocessor-based devices to prevent train collisions, upgrade bridge inspection systems, redesign coaches and use a new computerised system to enhance safety and comfort. More

`Rlys misses the bus on upgradation'
IMC termed the budget ``lacklustre'' and said the Centre had missed an opportunity to upgrade the Railways. It said the Railways were losing out to roadways, which offered a cheaper, door-to-door service. More

Users hail rate reliefs but still prefer road
GOING by the reaction of a cross section of would-be rail users, now relying more on road transport, the fresh steps announced by the Union Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, to rationalise rail freight through banding of rates may only evoke a ... More

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