Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Feb 24, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Feb 24, 2006 |
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Railways Industry & Economy - Railway Budget Railway budget to take care of all sections — Lalu Prasad rules out increase in passenger fares Our Bureau
ON TRACK: The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, along with his Ministers of State, Mr Naranbhai Rathwa and Mr R. Velu, addressing presspersons at the Rail Bhavan in the Capital on Thursday. — Kamal Narang
New Delhi , Feb. 23 The Rail Budget to be presented on Friday would attempt to take care of the interests of all sections of society, the Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, said here. Posing for photographers while giving the `final touches' to the Budget, a beaming Mr Prasad was flanked by his Ministers of State, Mr R. Velu and Mr Naranbhai Rathwa. The Members of Railway Board, including the Chairman, Mr JP Batra were also present. Thwarting all attempts of the media to get a sneak preview, he had one answer ready for several questions that were posed, "Hum kal bataenge," (I shall tell you tomorrow.) The Minister's mood was upbeat, as the Railways clocked earnings of Rs 43,799.27 crore (a 15 per cent year-on year growth) for the ten-month period from April 2005 to January 2006. The Railways is expected to end the 2005-06 fiscal with a revenue surplus of about Rs 9,000 crore. In the run-up to Budget, Mr Prasad had ruled out any hike in passenger fares during his media interactions. In fact, there could be moves to make the AC I and AC II segments attractive in the face of competition from low-cost airlines specifically in the long route segments — like the recent rewards point programme for frequent travellers. Mr Prasad is likely to announce plans to run low-cost AC trains to Patna, Chennai and Mumbai. The passenger upgradation and e-ticketing scheme may be extended to all trains in phases. There would be a greater focus on IT with an increase in outlay and call centres could be set up to across zones with private partnership. Passenger amenities may be another focus area and funds allocated for this section may increase significantly. The idea is to develop several "model stations" in certain cities, said officials. This would include lengthening of stations to accommodate longer trains so that passengers getting on and off trains do not face problems, and have better drinking water and lighting facilities, and waiting rooms. The platforms may also have bank ATMs Catering and tourism are the other segments where several measures are planned to curtail losses. This may come in the form of installing vending machines and setting up of budget hotels on a public-private partnership basis, apart from the ongoing initiative to award catering contracts through competitive bidding. On the freight side, Railways is expected to further increase its focus on enhancing the carrying capacity of wagons and reducing their turn-around time. This year, it hopes to allow a 22.9-tonne axle load on more routes. It might also start pilot projects to test a 25-tonne axle load on routes involving iron-ore movement. The upgradation of existing infrastructure for higher operating efficiency and investment in additional track capacity on routes is another focus area.
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