#RailBudget2016: With No Hike In Fares, Prabhu Presents His Feel-Good Budget

Unveiling the Railway Budget 2016 today, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said that the country was facing a difficult time with challenges that are entirely beyond the control of the government. He said that though the Indian Railways had tried to raise revenues by raising fares, it wanted to rethink its strategy. The minister said the railways would improve productivity and strategy to bring it in line with international standards, and that employment generation and economic growth would be part of the central agenda.

Here are the key highlights of the minister's Rail Budget speech:

• An operating ratio of 92 per cent is expected for 2016-17. Operating ratio expresses the ratio of operating expenses to revenues as a percentage.

• Every asset of the railways will be optimally monetised.

• Co-operation, collaboration and communication will be the hallmarks of the Indian Railways' journey.

• Public insurer Life Insurance Corporation will invest Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the railways over a period of five years.

• The dedicated freight corridor (DFC) project is gaining momentum. The Centre will built three new freight corridors: Delhi-Chennai, Kharagpur-Mumbai and Kharagpur-Vijayawada.

• Of the previous year, the saving of Rs 8,720 crore in the Budget Estimates (BE) will be effected this year.

• The railways will generate an employment of 90 million man-days by the financial year 2017-18 and an employment of 140 million man-days by the financial year 2018-19.

• Broad gauge lines at the rate of 7 kms per day will be commissioned. In the past five years, the rate was 4.5 kms per day.

• The railways will have time-tabled freight trains by 2020.

• Institutional financing will be introduced to fund new projects.

• All unmanned level crossing will be eliminated by 2020. 

• The government expects to generate revenues of about Rs 1,84,820 crore in the next financial year, nearly 10 per cent higher than the revised target of the current financial year.

• The capital plan for the financial year 2016-17 will be Rs 1,21,000 crore.

• The long-pending Broad Gauge Lumding-Silchar section in Assam will be opened soon, connecting the Barak Valley with the rest of the country.

• Unreserved passengers will have long-distance super-fast train, the Antyodaya Express.

• There will be fully unreserved super-fast trains on dense-traffic routes.

• The Indian Railways will introduce Deen Dayal Coaches for long-distance trains for unreserved passengers.

• The National Academy of Indian Railways in Vadodara, Gujarat, to be turned into a full-fledged railway university.

• The track record of the Indian Railways in ensuring the safety of passengers has improved. There was 20 per cent fewer accidents in the current financial year, relative to the previous ones, though there is much room for improvement.

• In 311 railway stations, CCTV network has been provided.

• For greater social awareness, walls of many railway stations have been converted to murals.

• The railways will raise the quota of lower berths for women and senior citizens.

• The Indian Railways will formulate a framework which allows financing capital expenditure from net savings from electrification.

• There are proposals to undertake bidding for redevelopment of some large and medium stations.

• The capacity of the e-ticketing system will be raised from 2,000 tickets per minute to 7,200 per minute.

• In the financial year 2016-17, Wi-Fi will be introduced at 100 railway stations, and in the financial year 2017-18, at 400 railway stations.

• The seat quota of senior citizens will be raised by 50 per cent.

• There will be 1,780 ticket-vending machines.

• In line with the Swachch Bharat Mission, 17,000 bio-toilets and additional toilets will be built by the end of this fiscal.

• Electrification will be done in 1,600 km this year, and in 2,000 km the next year.

• This month, as special purpose vehicle for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed corridor will be registered.

• For reviving freight share, a full-fledged market study on freight basket is underway.

• The Indian Railways will partner with the Tamil Nadu state government for developing the suburban network in Chennai through innovative financing methods.

• The railways will work with the Karnataka state government to develop suburban rails.

• The Ring Railway will be redeveloped joining hands with the Delhi government.

• FM radio stations are invited to provide train-borne entertainment through PA systems.

• Rail Bandhu Magazine will be published in all regional languages.

• In Mumbai, there may be soon elevated rail corridors from Churchgate to Virar and CST to Panvel.

• The Indian Railways will install GPS-based digital display in coaches to display upcoming stations.

• Amenities for passengers and beautification of railway stations will be a priority.

• The internal audit system will be revamped.

• The design of coaches will be re-imagined.

• Newly build railway stations will be according to the Accessible India guidelines.

• IRCTC will begin to manage catering service in phased manner.

• There will be overnight double-decker trains on business travel routes.

• Every day, more than 100,000 telephone calls are made to receive feedback from passengers.

• There is in-principle approval from 17 states to form joint ventures. The decision of the Cabinet to allow joint ventures with states for rail projects will open new ownership models for the railway sector.

• A broad gauge will connect parts of North-East India, especially Mizoram and Manipur.

• Starting from the next year, 2,800 kms of new tracks will be commissioned every year.

• The Indian Railways has been using social media to instill transparency.

• The Indian Railways has taken its recruitment process online to ensure that there is 100 per cent transparency.

• Bids for building two locomotive factories have been finalised. With an order book of Rs 40,000 crore, new factories will be set up.

• The Indian Railways will surpass its target of commissioning 2,500 kms of broad gauge lines in and this is nearly 30 per cent higher than the previous year.

• Every Rupee invested in the railways is likely to add value of about Rs 5 in the economy.

• India's first rail auto hub will be built in Chennai.