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INDIAN RAILWAYS
LIKELY TO RECORD THE BEST POSSIBLE OPERATING RATIO AT 78.7 PER CENT
CASH SURPLUS
BEFORE DIVIDEND EXPECTED TO BE AROUND RS. 20,000 CRORE
PASSENGER
EARNINGS UP BY 14 PER CENT THROUGH ADDITIONAL COACHES IN POPULAR TRAINS; OTHER COACH EARNINGS RISE BY 48 PER CENT
RAILWAYS
REGISTER UNPRECEDENTED INCREASE OF 17 PER CENT IN BOTH FREIGHT EARNINGS AND
GROSS TRAFFIC EARNINGS
NO INCREASE
IN PASSENGER FARES AND FREIGHT RATES
FARES OF
SECOND CLASS IN NON-SUBURBAN ORDINARY PASSENGERS AND NON-SUPER FAST EXPRESS/MAIL
TRAINS REDUCED BY ONE RUPEE PER PASSENGER
DYNAMIC PRICING
POLICY - DIFFERENTIAL DISCOUNTS IN AIRCONDITIONED CLASS DURING BUSY &
LEAN SEASONS
CHARGES FOR
e-TICKETING THROUGH INTERNET REDUCED
PROCESS OF
RATIONALISATION OF FREIGHT STRUCTURE TO CONTINUE
FREIGHT RATES
FOR DIESEL, PETROL AND AMMONI CUT BY 5 PER CENT
FREIGHT LOADING
TARGETTED AT 785 MILLION TONNES IN 2007-08
EIGHT MORE
GARIB RATHS TO BE INTRODUCED
32 PAIRS
OF NEW TRAINS INTRODUCED; 23 PAIRS
OF TRAIN ROUTES EXTENDED
NEW MISSION
TARGETS; 200 MILLION TONNES OF CEMENT
AND STEEL TO BE CARRIED BY RAILWAYS BY 2011-12
CONTAINER
TRAFFIC TARGETTED AT 100 MILLION TONNES BY 2011-12
TRIPLE STACK
CONTAINER TRAINS ON DIESEL ROUTES AND DOUBLE STACK CONTAINER TRAINS ON ELECTRIFIED
ROUTES PLANNED
TRANSPORTATION
OF COAL, CEMENT AND STEEL-- ENTREPRENEURS
INVITED TO ENTER INTO SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS FOR BETTER OPERATING EFFICIENCY
UPGRADATION
OF FREIGHT TERMINALS HANDLING MORE THAN 15 RAKES A MONTH
22.9 TONNES
AND 25 TONNES AXLE-LOAD FREIGHT TRAINS TO RUN ON MORE ROUTES
MANUFACTURERS
TO BE ENCOURAGED TO DESIGN WAGONS WITH HIGHER PAYLOAD AND NEW TECHNOLOGY
800 ADDITIONAL
COACHES FOR POPULAR TRAINS
PLAN TO PROVIDE CUSHIONED SEATS IN UNRESERVED COACHES
TOO
NEW TRAINS
TO HAVE SIX UNRESERVED COACHES INSTEAD OF CONVENTIONAL FOUR
NUMBER OF
SPECIAL COACHES FOR PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED TO BE INCREASED
EXCLUSIVE
COACHES FOR SMALL VENDORS IN PASSENGER TRAINS
BETTER TRAVEL
FACILITIES FOR PASSENGERS: COUNTRY-WIDE
CALL CENTRES FOR ENQUIRY, MORE RESERVED/UNRESERVED
TICKETING FACILITIES, AUTOMATIC TICKET VENDING MACHINES TO BE INSTALLED IN
METROPOLITAN CITIES IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS
YEAR 2007
DECLARED AS “CLEANLINESS YEAR”
NEW PROFILE
FOR RAILWAYS IN THE ELEVENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN: FOCUS ON DOUBLING TRANSPORT CAPACITY
AND REDUCING UNIT COST OF TRANSPORTATION BY INCREASING VOLUMES
CONSTRUCTION
OF EASTERN AND WESTERN DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDORS TO COMMENCE IN COMING FINANCIAL
YEAR
PRE-FEASIBILITY
STUDY FOR HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER CORRIDOR --
TRAINS TO RUN AT 300-350 Kms. PER HOUR
EFFORTS TO
PROVIDE AIR-CONDITIONED SUBURBAN TRAINS IN CHENNAI, KOLKATA AND MUMBAI AND
ESCALATORS AT IMPORTANT STATIONS
PRODUCTION OF ROLLING STOCK WILL
BE DOUBLED IN THE CURRENT PLAN; PRODUCTION
OF HIGH-HORSE POWER AND ENERGY EFFICIENT LOCOS TO BE INCREASED
INCREASED
INVESTMENT IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE EARNINGS, ENSURE EFFECTIVE
UTILIZATION OF HUMAN AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES AND FACILITATE LONG-TERM POLICY
DECISIONS
ENHANCED
RAILWAY SAFETY THROUGH INTRODUCTION OF ANTI-COLLISION DEVICES, SUB-WAYS AT
UNMANNED LEVEL CROSSINGS AND IMPROVED CRASH-WORTHY COACHES
RAILWAY SECURITY
TO BE ENHANCED THROUGH CCTV, PROVISION OF HAND-HELD METAL DETECTORS AND SURVEILLANCE
CAMERAS
The Union
Minister for Railways, Shri Lalu Prasad, unveiling the Railway Budget for
the year 2007-08 in the Lok Sabha today was upbeat about the performance of
the Indian Railways which have rendered an unprecedented surplus in spite
of reduction in passenger fares. Lauding
the contribution made by the 14 lakh railway employees in conquering all the
odds with an indomitable spirit, Shri Lalu Prasad said that by rendering an
unprecedented surplus in spite of a reduction in the passenger fares, we have disproved the myth that the railways
were sinking into a financial crisis due to social obligations. Outlining
the record-breaking financial performance of the Railways during the last
nine months, the Minister said that the railways had registered a historic
17 per cent increase in both freight earnings and gross traffic earnings. The railways’ cash-surplus before dividend
is expected to be around Rs. 20,000 crore and the railways are poised to achieve
an unprecedented operating ratio of 78.7 per cent.
The freight performance of the railways has been outstanding for the
third consecutive year with an incremental loading of around 60 million tonnes. Buoyed by the excellent performance in freight
the railways have set new mission targets of 200 million tonnes of cement
and steel transportation by the year 2011-12. The target for container traffic has been set at 100 million tonnes
by 2011-12 from the present 20 million tonnes. Shri Lalu Prasad said that a high level working group has been
constituted to achieve these goals. The
freight loading for the year 2007-08 is targetted at 785 million tonnes.
The coming year is likely to see triple stack container services on
diesel routes and double stack container trains on the electrified routes
on a pilot basis. As part of its business
strategy, the railways have invited private entrepreneurs as well as public
sectors like NTPC, for entering into
service-level agreements (SLA) for transportation of coal for power plants.
The Minister assured that the Railways’ experience in running merry-go
round systems will help companies cut transportation costs.
With a view to meet the increase in railway traffic, the Minister that
a decision has been taken to develop basic facilities at freight terminals
handling more than 15 rakes per month.
A multi-pronged strategy of increasing payload and reducing the tare
weight of trains is being put in place to effect an improvement of NTKM to
GTKM ratio. The Railways are poised
to increase and extend the running of 22.9 tonne axle-load trains and 25 tonne
axle-load trains.
In a new initiative, the Railway Minister announced that wagon manufacturers
would be permitted to supply wagons of their own designs with bogies, coupler,
draft and brake gear, recommended by Railways Design System Organisation (RDSO). Private initiative is being invited to encourage
development of such new technology wagons since these higher payload lower
tare weight wagons would be costlier as compared to old wagons.
Turning to amenities for passengers, the Railway Minister has announced
provision of cushion seats in unreserved second class coaches. The number of unreserved coaches in all new trains has been increased
to six from the present four. The
Railway Minister has said that every possible effort would be made to increase
such coaches in existing trains as well excluding the Jan Shatabdi and the
fully air-conditioned A.C. trains.
There is no increase in passenger fares for the year 2007-08. A variable fare scheme for the peak season
and lean season has been introduced under the dynamic pricing policy. While discounts in the air-conditioned class
varies from 2 per cent to 8 per cent depending on the class and the season,
for the new sleeper coaches having 84 berths the discount is 4 per cent irrespective
of the seasons. Expanding the number
of Garib Raths the Railway Minister announced that eight more Garib
Raths would be introduced in addition to 32 new pairs of trains and extension
of 23 pairs of trains.
The Minister
announced that the daily ticket fares for non-suburban second class ordinary
rains and non-superfast Mail/Express trains will be reduced by rupee one per
passenger. To encourage e-ticket usage,
the charges for e-ticketing
through Internet has been reduced. The
per e-ticket charge for sleeper class and A.C. class has been reduced from
Rs. 25 to Rs. 15 and Rs. 40 to Rs. 20 respectively. Besides, the minimum charge, there will be an additional charge
of Rs. 5 per passenger for booking of every additional passenger subject to
a maximum charge of Rs. 25 in sleeper class and Rs. 40 in the A.C. Class.
Shri Lalu Prasad also announced that a quota for allocating adequate lower berths will be set aside in
A.C. and Sleeper Classes for Senior Citizens and women above the age of 45
travelling alone. The Minister also
announced extension of 50 per cent concession to the students appearing in
the Main Written Examination of UPSC and Central Staff Selection Commission.
Special attention
has also been given to physically challenged passengers with the introduction
of specially manufactured coaches with wider doors, more aisle passages and
specially designed toilets for passengers on wheel chair. These coaches are to be introduced in all
Mail/Express Trains over the next two years.
The Minister also announced ear-marked coaches in passenger trains
for Milk and Vegetable vendors and other retail sellers who transport their
goods by train.
The Minister has also provided for better passenger amenities with
train enquiry call centres in all four regions of the country, improved PRS
systems which will provide current vacancy position of berths even on running
trains, expansion of PRS counters, automatic ticket vending machines and expanded
e-ticket reservation.
New design coaches have resulted in greatest seating and berth capacity. These coaches are to be introduced from 2007-08.
Shri Lalu Prasad also announced better passenger amenities at Railway
Stations. He said that the work has started in developing
five railways stations as model stations in each division and is likely to
be completed by March 2007. The year 2007-08 is to be observed as “Cleanliness Year” by the
Indian Railways.
Addressing
the Lok Sabha, the Minister charted out a new profile for the Indian Railways
in the Eleventh Five Year Plan marked by jump in investment for modernising
freight and passenger corridors, gauge conversions, rolling stock modernisation
and use of IT. The Railways have
targetted a freight loading of 1100 million tonnes by the end of the Eleventh
Five Year Plan. This is nearly 500
million tonnes more than the revised
estimate target of 726 million tonnes in the current Financial Year. Similarly, the passenger traffic is expected
to grow to 840 crore by the terminal year of the Eleventh Five Year Plan.
All this calls for expanded railway transport capacity
while bringing down unit cost by playing the volume game, the Minister
said. The railways have put in place a twin -- mid-term
and long-term -- policy strategy which aims at modernisation and technological
upgradation on the one hand and enhancement of the capacity of the network
and rolling stock on the other.
The Eastern and Western dedicated freight corridors which will start
in the coming Financial Year will be completed during the Eleventh Five Year
Plan at a cost of about Rs. 30,000
crore. The Minister also announced that the Railways
would be conducting pre-feasibility surveys for construction of East-West,
East-South, North-South and South-South corridors. He said, after completion of the freight corridors
the problem of passenger and goods trains running on the same network at different
speed will be solved.
Another thrust area during the Eleventh Plan will be to convert a majority
of metre gauge line still remaining to broad gauge.
Projects where State Governments contribute 50 per cent of the cost
will be given priority in sanction and implementation. Gauge conversion will facilitate integrating the remote and far-flung
areas of the country with the national main stream.
The Eleventh Five Year Plan is also likely to see development of the high-speed passenger corridor. Shri Lalu Prasad informed the Lok Sabha that
the Railways have decided to conduct pre-feasibility studies for construction
of high speed passenger corridors, equipped with the state-of-the-art signaling
and train control systems, for running
high speed trains at a speed of 300-350 Kms. Per hour;
one each in the Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern regions of
the country. These trains will cover distances of upto 600 kms. in two to three
hours. The railways will explore
alternatives including the Public-Private partnership model for implementation
of these corridors.
During the
Eleventh Five Year Plan, the Railways will also stress on the second axis of development which is rolling stock
modernisation and capacity augmentation.
Expansion of network has to be matched with expansion in rolling stock
and the railways hope to meet the increased demand by capacity expansion of rail coach and loco production units. One new factory each for rail coaches, diesel
locomotive, electric locomotive and wheels will be established. The locomotive to be manufactured in these
units will be equipped with the state-of-the art technology and will be capable
of hauling longer, heavier high axle load trains. The new Rail Coach Factory will produce high capacity, modern and
comfortable coaches, Similarly production of 32 tonne axle load, higher pay
load lower tare weight and track-friendly wagons will start for the new Dedicated
Freight Corridors.
The Minister
announced that the investment in the IT project will be increased to harness
increased passenger and freight earnings, reduce operating costs, improve
the image of the railways and help top management in arriving at long term
policy decision. A commercial portal
is to be developed in the next three years for yield management to attract
higher traffic for returning empty trains and filling up vacancies.
Dwelling on the public-private partnership model, the Minister said
that PPP is not a compulsion, nor a fashion for us.
He said that the Railways were seeking partnership with the private
sector on terms that would protect both the railways and customers interest. He further
said that in the Eleventh Five Year
Plan PPP’s options will be explored to modernize metro and mini metro stations
with world class passenger amenities, to construct multi-modal logistic parks
warehouses and budget hotels. He
said that the PPP schemes are such that one and one will make eleven and
not two.
Turning to railway safety and security the Minister said that the Depreciation
Reserve Fund has been increased more than two-fold to Rs. 5500 crore from
Rs. 2100 crore in 2011-12. He said
that out of the Rs. 17,000 crore Special Railway Safety Fund, most of the
works of renewal of over-aged tracks, bridges, track circuiting and rolling
stock will be completed by March 2007 and all the remaining works will be
completed by March 2008. As per
the Corporate Safety Plan of the Railways, the testing of anti-collision device
on North East Frontier Railway is in its last phase and is likely to be completed
by March 2007.
In the background
of the recent bomb blast on the Delhi-Atari Link Express and the Mumbai Sub-urban
services last year, the Minister said security is being strengthened through
provision of hand-held metal detectors, explosive detection devices, CCTVs
and smart video cameras at sensitive railway stations.
In consultation with security experts an integrated extensive security
and surveillance system is being developed for Mumbai suburban services, he
said.
EK/AKS/HCK/AMA - 260207
HIGHLIGHTS
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Summary -Highlights of Railway Budget 2007-08
