| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
 Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:21:20
|
Indian Railways to give priority to socially viable projects
MAMATA BANERJEE LAYS EMPHASIS ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN BACKWARD AREAS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:15 IST
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
The Railway Minister, Kumari Mamata Banerjee, today sought to make the Railways an instrument of holistic socio-economic development of the country with focus on the backward areas and the poor.
An expert committee will be set up to advise the Railway Ministry on innovative financing and implementation of the so called “economically unviable” but socially desired projects. The Committee will identify those parts that are detached from all infrastructure development. This was announced by the Union Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee while presenting the Railway Budget 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha today.
She said that the Railways will prepare a blue-print of the possible schemes which could be implemented in the next five years. Outlining her idea of development, the Minister said that though these projects might be economically unviable but were an economic necessity for the people of those regions that have remained victims of backwardness and poverty. “They need these projects even more”, the Minister asserted and added that these projects may not meet the so called economic viability criterion but create economic assets which would be far more beneficial for future development.
Further elaborating her idea of development, Kumari Mamata Banerjee said that the time has come when our economists and social philosophers would have to consider, that the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden is the primary task of any welfare Government. “The old mindset of economic viability should be substituted by social viability,” the Minister emphasised. The Railways must set an example to promote ‘inclusiveness’ in their functioning keeping the needs of all sections of the countrymen in our thoughts, decisions and deeds, she added.
The Minister said that every ordinary person should receive his share in fruits of development. “Indian Railways is a unique umbrella for creation of infrastructure for development and we aim to expand the network to reach development to every corner of the country”, she said. Summing up the Budget speech, Kumari Mamata Banerjee said, “it would be our endeavour to render all commercial services with a human face.”
irse
|
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:23:01
|
No Increase in the Passenger fares and Freight Tariffs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:16 IST
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
There is no increase in the passenger fares of any class or category of trains in the Railway Budget 2009-10. The freight tariffs will also register no increase. This was announced by the Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee in Parliament today.
Announcing this, she said she is aware that the recession in the economy has caused much economic burden among the poorer section of our society. Therefore, she does not propose any increase in the passenger fares of an class or category of trains.
irse |
 |
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:23:40
|
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
Presenting the Railway Budget 2009-10 in the Parliament today, the Minister of Railway, Kumari Mamata Banerjee has said target of 250 km. has been fixed for construction of new lines in 2009-10. She said, some prominent sections are as follows:
1. Ghoramara-Dumka of Deogarh-Dumka.
2. Bishnupur-Gokulnagar of Tarakeshwar-Bishnupur.
3. Lanjigarh-Bhawanipatna of Lanjigarh-Junagarh
4. Quazigund-Anantnag of Udhampr-Baramulla.
5. Rewari-Jhajjar of Rewari-Rohtak.
6. Kottur-Harihar.
7. Churaru Takrala-Amb Andaura of Nangal Dam-Talwara.
The Railway Minister also announced that in order to continue the pace of creation of infrastructure, her Ministry proposes to process 53 new rail connectivity proposals in 2009-10 besides the above mentioned new lines.
irse |
|
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:24:26
|
Summary: Highlights of Railway Budget – 2009-2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13:45 IST
Ø NO INCREASE IN PASSENGER FARE AND FREIGHT TARIFF
Ø BUDGET TO HAVE INCLUSIVE GROWTH AND EXPANSION OF RAILWAY NETWORK TO EVERY CORNER OF THE COUNTRY
Ø PLAN OUTLAY OF RS.40,745 CR. PROPOSED FOR 2009-2010,
Ø PASSENGER AMENITIES GET HIGH PRIORITY, TO GET 119% INCREASE
Ø TRAFFIC RECEIPTS DURING 2008-09 INCREASE BY 11.4 % WHILE FREIGHT LOADING GREW @ 5%
Ø SPECIAL TRAINS FOR PERISHABLE FARM PRODUCE, FACILITIES FOR TRANSPORTATION OF RURAL CRAFT
Ø WORKS FOR 7 NEW LINES, GAUGE CONVERSION OF 17 LINES AND DOUBLING OF 13 LINES TO BE TAKEN UP
Ø FASTER PARCEL SERVICES PROPOSED ON THREE ROUTES
Ø TATKAL SCHEME TO BE MADE PASSENGER FRIENDLY
Ø RAILWAY TICKETS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH POST OFFICES AND ‘MUSHKIL AASAAN’ MOBILE VANS
Ø CONCESSION FOR PRESS PERSONS INCREASED TO 50%
Ø MONTHLY TICKET OF RS. 25/- FOR UNORGANIZED SECTOR/POOR UNDER ‘IZZAT’ SCHEME
Ø “ONLY LADIES’ EMU TRAINS AT DELHI, KOLKATA AND CHENNAI
Ø ‘YUVA TRAINS’ FROM RURAL HINTERLAND TO METROS AT CONCESSIONAL FARE
Ø 12 NEW POINT-TO-POINT ‘DURANTO’ TRAINS
Ø 57 NEW TRAINS, EXTENSION OF 27 TRAINS AND INCREASE IN FREQUENCY OF 13 TRAINS AND AIR-CONDITIONED DOUBLE-DECKER TRAINS PROPOSED
Ø 50 STATIONS TO BE UPGRADED TO WORLD CLASS STATIONS
Ø LONG DISTANCE TRAINS TO HAVE ON-BOARD DOCTORS AND INFOTAINMENT SERVICES
Ø HANDICAPPED AND AGED PERSONS TO HAVE MORE AMENITIES
Ø SPECIAL FUND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EAST RAILWAY
Ø QUAZIGUND-ANANTNAG LINE TO BE COMPLETED BY NEXT MONTH
Ø 6560 RAILWAY STAFF QUARTERS TO BE CONSTRUCTED AND GROUP ‘D’ EMPLOYEES TO GET SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THEIR GIRL CHILD
Ø RAILWAYS TO COME OUT WITH WHILE PAPER ON FINANCIAL STATUS AND VISION-2020 DOCUMENT
Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10 in Parliament today, Minister of Railways Kumari Mamata Banerjee announced that there will be no increase in passenger fare and freight tariff. She said that the budget will have approach for ‘inclusive growth’ and expansion of rail network to take development to every corner of the country.
Presenting the railway budget she proposed an outlay of Rs,.40,745 cr. for 2009-10. Out of this, Rs.2,921 cr. will be spent on new lines, Rs.1,750 cr. on gauge conversion and Rs.1,102 cr. on passenger amenities, which is 119% more than the allocation in the interim budget. Rs.424 cr. will also be spent on railway staff amenities. She proposed freight loading target of 882 MT and estimated gross freight receipt at Rs.88,419 cr.
Giving an overview of financial performance of the Railways in 2008-09, the Minister informed that freight loading during the period grew by 5 percent while traffic receipt increased by 11.4 per cent to reach Rs. 79,862 cr.
The Budget has proposals for 7 new lines, Gauge conversion of 17 lines and doubling of 13 railway lines. In addition, proposals for 53 new lines, 3 gauge conversion and doubling of 12 lines will be processed during the year.
Proposing revision in Tatkal Scheme to make it more passenger friendly, the Railway Minister said that both the advance booking time and minimum charge will be reduced. She said perceptible improvement will be ensured in passenger amenities and safety and security will be given utmost importance. Cleanliness and quality of railway catering will be improved with focus on strict monitoring. She proposed that ticketing facilities will be taken to the grassroot level. Under the ‘Maa Mati Manush’ initiative, computerized tickets will also be made available through Post Offices. Mobile ticketing vans, ‘Mushkil Aasaan’, will also be introduced to provide services in remote areas.
Timely track renewal, modernization of signals and use of digital ultrasonic flaw detectors will be introduced for the safety of the passengers besides Integrated Security Scheme at 140 vulnerable and sensitive stations. Women RPF Squads, exclusively for women passengers, will also be introduced.
Kumari Mamata Banerjee announced a new scheme “Izzat” for travel with dignity. Under this scheme the people in unorganized sector with monthly income upto Rs.1,500/- can avail concessional monthly season ticket of Rs.25/- for travel upto 100 k.m.
The existing student concession is to be extended to students of Madrasas and students in Kolkata will now have the MST facilities for Kolkata Metro also.
To provide relief to women passengers the Minister proposed ‘only ladies’ EMU trains in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata suburban during rush hours. She also announced new ‘Yuva trains’ dedicated to young generation from rural hinterland to major metros with concessional rail fare but with air-conditioned facilities.
Now the Press persons will get increased concession of 50% instead of existing 30% . Once in a year their spouse can also travel with 50% concession.
The Railway Minister announced 12 new point to point, non-stop ‘Duronto’ trains, 57 new train services, extension of 27 trains and increase in frequency of 13 trains. The Minister also proposed introduction of Air-conditioned double decker coaches for inter-city travel.
Fifty stations will be developed as world class stations and 375 stations as ‘Adarsh Stations’ with improved basic amenties. Multi functional complexes with shopping facilities, food stalls, budget hotels are to be constructed at 50 railway stations, which serve as centres of pilgrimage, tourist and industry.
The Minister announced extensive availability of ‘Janata Khana’, in which national and regional cuisines will be ensured. To improve the cleanliness, the onboard house keeping scheme (OBHS) will cover 200 additional pairs of trains. The long distance trains will have onboard availability of doctors and infotainment services. She also proposed 1000 new passenger reservation locations and expansion of Unreserved Ticketing System terminal from 5000 to 8000, In addition, automated ticket vending machines will be installed at 200 large and medium size stations.
Stressing on the extension of facilities for handicapped persons, the Railway Minister said that the Railway will have more ramps, lifts, escalators and special coaches for physically challenged and aged persons..
Reiterating her priority to extend railway services to farmers, she announced special trains to ferry perishable agro products like fruits, vegetables and also village handicrafts, cottage industry and textile products from production clusters to consumer clusters. She also proposed premium freight service for container movement with assured transit time and a mega logistic hub alongside eastern and western dedicated freight corridors. Premium parcel services with guaranteed transit time on pilot basis will be introduced on three routes. During 2009-10, Railway would acquire 18,000 new wagons against 11,000 in 2008-09.
The Minister announced creation of North-East Rail Development Fund for timely completion of national projects in the North Eastern region and said Quazigund-Anantnag new line in Kashmir will be completed by next month. She also proposed setting up of a new factory at Kanchrapara-Halisahar for manufacturing rail coaches and setting up 1000 MW power plant at Adra, in collaboration with Ministry of Power.
The Railway Minister said that welfare of railway staff will be given high priority. 6560 staff quarters will be constructed in 2009-10 and indoor stadia will be developed in major railway divisions and zones. Increased contribution of Rs.350 per employees to Staff Benefit Fund will continue for a year, with Rs.100 per employee for women empowerment. Scholarships will be introduced for the higher education of girl children of Group ‘D’ staff. She proposed attached medical colleges with railway hospitals at 18 locations and one burn unit at major hospitals. The Minister said the policy on Railway Recruitment Boards will be reviewed. Special recruitment drives for filling vacancies of SC and ST and physically handicapped will also be undertaken.
Emphasizing on review of projects with social perspective, Kumari Mamata Banerjee said, innovative financing will be adopted. The Railways will come out with White Paper on organizational, operational and financial status based on the last five years’ performance and develop Vision-2020 with short and long term strategy and plan of action. She said that a project monitoring committee will be set up for developing mechanism to avoid slippage in project delivery. Special monitoring will be taken up for all National Rail Projects. She also proposed an expert committee headed by Shri Sam Pitroda to suggest innovations to utilize optic fibre cable network of Railways and take information technology to remote areas.
irse |
|
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:25:29
|
New Scheme for poor to travel with dignity
‘ONLY LADIES’ SPECIAL TRAINS IN DELHI, CHENNAI & KOLKATA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:20 IST
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
The Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee today announced a new scheme ‘Izzat’ in the Railway Budget for 2009-10.
Under the scheme, a uniformally priced monthly season ticket of Rs. 25 would be available free of all surcharges for travel up to 100 kms for members of the unorganized sector with monthly income not exceeding Rs. 1500/-. The scheme aims to provide an opportunity to the poorest of the poor to travel with dignity.
In addition, the Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee also announced ‘Only Ladies’ EMU train services in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata suburban on the pattern of Mumbai suburban. Announcing this, she said these services will run for the convenience of women passengers during office hours.
irse |
|
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:39:34
|
Yuva’ Trains for youth and low-income passengers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:26 IST
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
The Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee today announced ‘Yuva Trains’ dedicated specially for the young generation.
Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10, she said, these trains will be introduced between major cities to ensure that the youth and low income groups can travel at low rates between these cities.
The new low-priced fast train service will be started to connect youth in rural hinterlands to major metros/cities. Kumari Mamata Banerjee said, the train will provide air-condition seated accommodation and will run from point to point for distances ranging from 1000 km to 2500 km. The fare will be Rs. 299 for distances up to 1500 km and Rs. 399 for distances up to 2500 km.
A weekly service will be introduced as a pilot service within three months in the following sections: (a) Mumbai to Delhi, (b) Delhi to Kolkata. Kumari Mamata Banerjee said, if successful, Yuva Trains will be extended to other areas of the country.
irse |
|
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:41:31
|
Yuva’ Trains for youth and low-income passengers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:26 IST
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
The Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee today announced ‘Yuva Trains’ dedicated specially for the young generation.
Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10, she said, these trains will be introduced between major cities to ensure that the youth and low income groups can travel at low rates between these cities.
The new low-priced fast train service will be started to connect youth in rural hinterlands to major metros/cities. Kumari Mamata Banerjee said, the train will provide air-condition seated accommodation and will run from point to point for distances ranging from 1000 km to 2500 km. The fare will be Rs. 299 for distances up to 1500 km and Rs. 399 for distances up to 2500 km.
A weekly service will be introduced as a pilot service within three months in the following sections: (a) Mumbai to Delhi, (b) Delhi to Kolkata. Kumari Mamata Banerjee said, if successful, Yuva Trains will be extended to other areas of the country.
irse |
|
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 01:42:03
|
First ever non-stop train service ‘Duronto’ introduced
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:27 IST
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
For the first time in the history, non-stop train service is being introduced in India. The non-stop train service ‘Duronto’ will have AC and non-AC sleepers and will run between select cities throughout the country.
Duronto train services
1. New Delhi-Jammu Tawi Non stop (Tri-weekly)
2. Howrah-Mumbai (AC) Non stop (Bi-weekly)
3. Mumbai-Ahmedabad (AC) Non stop (Tri-weekly)
4. Chennai-Delhi Non Stop (Bi-weekly)
5. New Delhi-Lucknow Non Stop (Tri-weekly)
6. Delhi-Pune (AC) Non Stop (Bi-weekly)
7. Howarh-Delhi Non Stop (Bi-weekly)
8. New Delhi-Allahabad Non Stop (Tri-weekly)
9. Sealdah-New Delhi Non Stop (Bi-weekly)
10. Kolkata-Amritsar Non Stop (Bi-weekly)
11. Bhubaneswar-Delhi Non Stop (weekly)
12. Ernakulam-Delhi Non Stop (weekly)
irse |
|
|
|
irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 02:00:40
|
Quazigund-Anantnag (J&K) line to be inaugurated soon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:29 IST
RAILWAY BUDGET 2009-10
Quazigund-Anantnag line will be completed by August 2009 and will be inaugurated soon. This was announced by the Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee in her Railway Budget 2009-10 speech in Parliament today.
She said the work on the J&K project has got a set back as difficulties have been faced on the part of the line from Udhampur to Katra and Katra to Quazigund.
The Minister said that the alignment on Katra-Quazigund section has been under review and an Expert Committee appointed to study the issues involved has recently submitted its report. She said, as safety of the passengers is the foremost concern, the decision in this project has to be made very carefully.
irse |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Railway budget 2009-10
