Railway Budget in a nutshell

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the railway budget in the Parliament on Friday.

Here are the highlights for you:

INVESTMENTS

    Over next five years we are expecting investment of Rs 8.5 lakh crore in Railways.    To Spend Rs 96,182 Cr On Capacity Expansion In for year 2016    Planned budget for 2015-16 pegged at 1.11 trillion rupees. Size of railway budget up by 52 per cent this financial year.    To save Rs. 3,000 Cr via cheaper power purchase    Government launching a coastal connectivity programme this year at cost of Rs 2,000 cr

SMART RAILWAYS

    Mobile app to address complaints of people is also being developed.  Railways to launch multi-lingual E-ticket portal. Unreserved tickets can now be booked through smart phones.    SMS alert service to be initiated to inform passengers about arrival & departure.    WiFi at all A1, A2 stations. Would be extended to B stations also.    An all-India 24x7 helpline number, 138 to become functional to attend to the problems of passengers. The passengers can lodge complaint about railway functioning.    To monetise assets rather than sell them; expansion of water harvesting system to continue

SECURE RAILWAYS

    Cameras to be installed inside coaches to ensure greater security.    Toll free No.182 – for security related complaints    To prevent fire in coaches, train protection warning system and train collision avoiding system to be installed.    917 safety work projects to eliminate over 3,000 unmanned crossings in all states

HELP FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED

    Newly manufactured coaches will be Braille enabled & have wider entrances for differently abled passengers

AMENITIES

    17000 more toilets to be replaced by Bio-Toilets    Rs 120 crore for providing lifts and escalators at railway stations.    10 cities to have satellite railway stations to avoid passenger rush.    On ticketing, Suresh Prabhu announces operation 5 minutes to improve ticketing process    One can now book your rail meal from a food chain online. Book rail tickets 4 months in advance    Speed will be increased, so Delhi-Kolkata journey can be done overnight    Middle berth to be reserved for women & senior citizens. Pregnant women, elders will get only lower berths.    6000 km of route to be electrified in 2015-16

NEW TRAINS

    Direct line between Delhi and Meghalaya introduced    Railway connectivity for North Eastern State and J&K - ongoing process major thrust

NEW INITIATIVES

    Four railway research centres in four cities    The speed on some railway corridors to be increased to 160-200 kmph    1000MV Solar plants to be set-up by developers on railway and private lands    Entertainment in Shatabdi Express.   1200 km of fresh lines, 800 km of gauge conversion, Rs 96,182 crore for capacity extension.

For AP and Telangana

    Third railway line to be set up between Kazipet and Vijayawada