Highlights of Railway Budget 2011-12
Following are the main Highlights of Railway Budget 2011-12:
- No hike in passenger fare and freight rates.
- Highest ever Plan outlay of Rs. 57, 630 crore proposed for Railways.
- Rs. 9,583 crore provided for new lines.
- 1300 km new lines, 867 km doubling of lines and 1017 km gauge conversion targeted in 2011-12.
- 56 new Express Trains, 3 new Shatabdis and 9 Duronto trains to be introduced.
- AC Double Decker services on Jaipur-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai routes.
- New Super AC Class to be introduced.
- A new portal for eticketing to be launched shortly. Booking charges will be cheaper with a charge of only Rs. 10 for AC classes and Rs.5 for others.
- Pan-India multi-purpose smart card “Go India” to be introduced.
- 236 more stations to be upgraded as Adarsh Stations.
- 47 additional suburban services in Mumbai and 50 new suburban services proposed for Kolkata.
- Two new passenger terminals in Kerala and one each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal proposed.
- Feasibility study to raise speed of passenger trains to 160-200 kmph to be undertaken.
- A special package of two new trains and two projects for the States managing trouble free run of trains through out the year.
- Anti Collision Devise (ACD) sanctioned to cover 8 zonal railways.
- GPS Based ‘Fog Safe’ Device to be deployed.
- All unmanned level crossing upto 3000 to be eliminated.
- All India Security Help line on a single number set up.
- All state capitals in the North-East except Sikkim to be connected by Rail in next seven years.
- A Bridge Factory in J & K and a state-of-art Institute for Tunnel and Bridge Engineering is proposed at Jammu.
- A Diesel Locomotive Centre will be set-up in Manipur.
- A Centre of Excellence in Software at Darjeeling proposed under the aegis of CRIS.
- Rail Industrial Parks at Jellingham and New Bongaigaon proposed.
- Additional mechanized laundry units to be set up at Nagpur, Chandhigarh and Bhopal.
- 700 MW gas-based power plant to be set up at Thakurli in Maharashtra.
- 18,000 Wagons to be procured during 2011-12.
- A scheme for socially desirable projects, ‘Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana’ with Non-lapsable fund proposed.
- 10,000 shelter units proposed for track side dwellers in Mumbai, Sealdah, Siliguri, Tiruchirapalli on pilot basis.
- Concession to physically handicapped persons to be extended on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.
- Concession of 50% to press correspondents with family increased to twice a year.
- Senior Citizens concession to be hiked from 30 % to 40 %.
- Medical facilities extended to dependent parents of the Railway employees.
- Scholarship for Girl child of Group-D railway employees increased to Rs.1200 per month.
- 20 additional hostels for children of railway employees to be set up.
- Recruitment for 1.75 lakh vacancies of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ including to fill up backlog of SC/ST initiated, 16,000 ex-servicemen to be inducted by March 2011.
- A separate sports cadre to be created.
- 2011-12 declared ‘Year of Green Energy’ for Railways.
- Freight loading of 993 MT and passenger growth of 6.4 % estimated for 2011-12.
- Gross Traffic Receipts at Rs.1,06,239 crore, exceeding one lakh crore mark for the first time estimated.
- Ordinary Working Expenses assessed at Rs. 73,650 crore.
Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=23
03/07/11 11:53:32 am, 
IRCTC has finally handed over catering services to the ECR
PATNA: IRCTC has finally handed over catering services to the East Central Railway (ECR). Now IRCTC will look after only e-ticketing and rail tourism.
According A K Jha, the IRCTC had been providing catering services in about 22 pairs of passenger trains under the ECR. Jha said that the IRCTC has already handed over to the ECR modular stalls located at Patna Junction, Mughalsarai , Gaya and other major stations of the ECR. Thus, the IRCTC has been completely stripped of catering responsibility by the railways, he said, adding the IRCTC has decided to launch its own ventures to make its presence felt in the corporate world.
IRCTC has decided to sell Rail Neer in open market
PATNA: Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to sell Rail Neer (mineral water bottle) in open market at the same price of Rs 12 each bottle in Bihar only to generate more revenue for the railways. After a three-month trial period in Bihar, it will be exlplored of its sale at other places, said Patna-based IRCTC regional manager A K Jha.
Jha told TOI that the railways has introduced its own brand Rail Neer at a reasonable price to fulfill the needs of passengers both on running trains and at railway platforms. The IRCTC has installed its three Rail Neer plants at Nangloi (Delhi), Khagaul (Danapur) and Palur (Chennai).
The struggle of Indian Railways to manage its financial woes and modernization delays
MUMBAI - While China has begun to earn billions of dollars exporting high-speed bullet train technology to the United States and Europe, the struggle of Indian Railways to manage its financial woes and modernization delays serves as a stark contrast between the operators of the world's two largest railway networks.
Cash-strapped Indian Railways has asked the Indian Finance Ministry for US$8.6 billion in the annual railway budget to be released this month, more than double the allocation of $3.47 billion in the 2010 budget for modernization programs.
The 157-year old Indian Railways, hauling over 13 million passengers daily and calling itself the "Lifeline of the Nation", is closely linked to the common man, with its heavily subsidized fares; it offers 25% to 75% fare concessions to 50 categories of travelers, from the physically and mentally impaired to patients traveling for medical treatment, war widows, the elderly and students, including those from overseas.
Indian Railways has the world's largest online ticketing service - but insider fraud is often suspected, with tickets in very popular trains sold out almost instantly when reservations opens three months in advance.
Source: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MB10Df04.html