Budget 2014-2015
Speech of
Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda
Minister of Railways
July 8, 2014
Madam Speaker,
1. I rise to present before this august House the Statement of Estimated
Receipts and Expenditure for 2014-15 for Railways. As I stand in this
Temple of Democracy, I owe this opportunity to the people of this
country who have elected us to represent them and to shape their
destiny.
2. I am grateful to the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji
for having reposed his faith in me and entrusting this huge
responsibility of leading Indian Railways. I promise to fulfill this
responsibility and make every endeavour not only to lead Indian
Railways, but also aid in building a vibrant India under the dynamic
leadership of Shri Narendra Modi ji.
3. It gives me immense pleasure to present my maiden Railway
Budget. Indian Railways, being the nation's prime mover, is the
structure and soul of Indian economy. It echoes rhyme and rhythm
in the hearts of every citizen of this country from Baramulla in the
North to Kanyakumari in the South and from Okha in the West to
Lekhapani in the East. Madam Speaker, we all know that Indian
Railways cut across all barriers of regions, classes and creed and is
a microcosm of India on the move.
4. From a man on the streets of Bengaluru to fish vendors in Kolkata to
the hustle bustle at Nizamuddin Station, everywhere you find
a citizen of this country rushing to connect with Indian Railways.
5. Madam Speaker, though I am hardly a month old in the office, I am
flooded with requests and suggestions for new trains, new railway
lines and better services from the Hon'ble Members of the
Parliament, from my colleagues in the Government, from States,
from stake holders, from organizations and from people of all walks
of life. I know that everybody feels that they have a solution for the
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challenges which Indian Railways face. I too thought so when I was
an outsider to this system before I was exposed to the intricacies and
complexities of this vast organization. Now, I am overwhelmed with
the enormity of my responsibility in fulfilling these expectations as
Minister of Railways.
This, Madam Speaker, reminds me of Kautilya's words -
£
× £
In the happiness of the people lies the Ruler's happiness
Their welfare is his welfare
What pleases him, the Ruler shall not consider good
but whatever pleases his people
the Ruler shall consider good
- Kautilya's Arthashastra
6. Indian Railways run 12617 trains to carry over 23 million passengers
per day connecting more than 7172 stations spread across the sub
continent. It is equivalent to moving the entire population of the
Australia. We run more than 7421 freight trains carrying about
3 Million Tonnes of freight every day. Madam Speaker, having
achieved the distinction of entering the select club of railways of
China, Russia and USA in carrying more than one billion tons of
freight, I now target to become the largest freight carrier in the
world.
7. Madam Speaker, as you know, apart from serving the passengers,
Indian Railways carries coal
It carries steel
It carries cement
It carries salt
It carries food grains and fodder
and it also carries milk.
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Thus, Indian Railways practically carries anything and everything
and it never says no to `a thing' if it fits in the wagons. Most
importantly, we are the backbone of supply chain of the defence
establishment and play a very crucial role in security of the nation.
8. Madam Speaker, while we carry 23 million passengers a day, there
are still large number of people who have not set a foot on a train
yet. We carry over one-billion tonnes of freight a year, connecting
ports and mines to industrial clusters, but still there are vast tracts of
hinterland waiting for rail connectivity. Though freight business has
grown steadily over the years, Indian Railways carry only 31% of the
total freight carried in the country by all modes. These are the
challenges we have to face.
9. Madam Speaker, an organization of this magnitude vested with
varied responsibilities, is expected to earn like a commercial
enterprise but serve like a welfare organization. These two objectives
are like two rails of the railway track, which though travel together
but never meet. So far, Indian Railways have managed to do
tight-rope walking by balancing these twin conflicting objectives.
10. Social service obligation rose from 9.4% of Gross Traffic Receipts in
2000-01 to 16.6% in 2010-11. In 2012-13, such obligations stood over
` 20,000 crore. The total investment, which is the Plan Outlay under
budgetary sources, in the same year, was ` 35,241 crore. As an
amount, the burden of social service obligation is more than half of
the size of our Plan Outlay under budgetary sources.
11. Madam Speaker, an organization spending an amount equivalent to
more than half of its Plan Outlay under budgetary sources on social
obligations, can hardly have adequate resources for its development
works.
However, Madam Speaker, Indian Railways would continue to
fulfill its social obligations, but sustaining these objectives beyond
a point is not possible without compromising on efficiency and
safety of train operations.
12. We have a total track length of 1.16 lakh kilometers; 63,870 coaches;
more than 2.4 lakh wagons and 13.1 lakh employees. This calls for
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expenditure on fuel, salary and pension, track & coach maintenance
and more importantly on safety works. This takes up most of our
earning from the Gross Traffic Receipts. In the year 2013-14, Gross
Traffic Receipts were ` 1,39,558 crore and total Working Expenses
were ` 1,30,321 crore, which works out to an Operating Ratio of
almost 94%.
13. This, Madam Speaker, implies that we spend 94 paise out of every
rupee earned, leaving 6 paise only as surplus. This surplus, apart
from being meager, is continuously on decline due to non-revision
of fare. The surplus, after paying obligatory dividend and lease
charges, was ` 11,754 crore in 2007-08 and is estimated to be
` 602 crore in the current financial year.
Madam Speaker, this meager surplus so generated is required to
finance the Plan Outlay for safety, capacity expansion,
infrastructure, improving passenger services and amenities.
14. Funds to the tune of about ` 5 lakh crore i.e. around ` 50,000 crore
per year for next 10 years, are required for ongoing projects alone.
This leaves a huge gap between what is available as surplus and
what is needed.
15. While prudent efforts should have been made to address this gap,
the tariff policy adopted lacked rational approach. Passenger fares
were kept lower than costs, thus causing loss in the passenger train
operations. This loss kept on increasing from 10 paise per passenger
kilometer in 2000-01 to 23 paise in 2012-13, as the passenger fares
were kept low always.
16. On the other hand, freight rates were revised periodically and kept
high in order to compensate the losses sustained in passenger sector
resulting in freight traffic getting diverted consistently. Also the
share of railways in freight traffic came down consistently in the last
30 years. Madam Speaker, it is important to note that decline in the
share of total freight traffic is potential revenue loss.
17. Madam Speaker, having spoken about how revenue was frittered
away, now, let me touch upon how the investments were
misdirected.
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18. There has been focus on sanctioning projects rather than completing
them. In the last 30 years, as many as 676 projects were sanctioned
worth ` 1,57,883 crore. Of these, only 317 projects could be
completed and 359 projects remain to be completed which will now
require as much as ` 1,82,000 crore.
19. In the last 10 years, 99 New Line projects worth ` 60,000 crore were
sanctioned out of which only one project is complete till date. In fact,
there are 4 projects that are as old as 30 years, but are still not
complete for one reason or another. The more projects we add, the
thinner we spread our resources and longer it takes to complete
them.
I am sure, if this trend is allowed to continue, many more thousands
of crore will get spent yielding hardly any returns.
20. Madam Speaker, having spoken about never-ending projects of
Indian Railways, let me throw some light on the kind of priority
accorded in choosing projects. It is investment in doubling and
tripling to decongest the over-utilized network, which brings money
to Railways. On the other hand, construction of new lines, most of
the times do not even meet operational cost as there is no
commensurate demand.
21. In the last 10 years, Indian Railways made an investment of over
` 41,000 crore in laying 3738 kilometers of New lines. On the other
hand, it spent only about ` 18,400 crore for doubling of
5050 kilometers though it was a priority for the health of the system.
22. I would like to read a comment on Indian Railways by someone,
which I chanced upon. I did not understand it till I learnt about
the facts I talked about so far:
"It is unheard of a business that has a monopoly,
that has nearly 125 crore customer base,
that has 100% sale on advance payment;
but still starved of funds."
This, Madam Speaker, is the story of Indian Railways so far.
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23. Railways serving the social obligation would not have been an issue.
However, in the name of social viability, the chosen projects were
populist in nature, bringing hardly any revenue to the Railways.
Investments continued in non-remunerative projects in the name of
social responsibility. On the whole, neither the projects brought
returns to Railways nor the social responsibility was met in full for
many years.
24. This mismanagement and apathy brought Railways into the
situation of severe funds crunch for many years, which is a result of
the `decade of golden dilemma' the dilemma of choosing between
commercial viability and social viability.
Madam Speaker, I am sure, my esteemed predecessors were aware
of this precarious situation, but they, however, fell prey to the
`nasha' of claps in the House when they announced these projects.
25. Madam Speaker, I also can get claps from this august House by
announcing many new projects, but that would be rendering
injustice to the struggling organization. I would like to take claps
throughout the year by setting things in order.
26. This state of affairs of Indian Railways needs immediate course
correction. Among the many corrective steps that I have planned
out, fare revision was one, which was a tough but a necessary
decision. Madam Speaker, as they say
"The medicine appears as bitter in the beginning,
but is like nectar in the end."
This fare revision will bring Indian Railways an additional revenue
of about ` 8,000 crore. However, we need more than ` 9 Lakh crore
to complete the Golden Quadrilateral Network and about
` 60,000 crore for introducing one bullet train alone.
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But Madam Speaker, can I depend only on hiking fare and freight
rates and burden the public to realize these funds?
This is unrealistic. Thus, I need to explore the alternate means of
resource mobilisation.
I. RESOURCE MOBILISATION
1. Leveraging Railway PSU Resources
Madam Speaker, Railway PSUs have done very well and are
financially sound. I propose to launch a scheme to bring in investible
surplus funds of Railway PSUs in infrastructure projects of
Railways, which can generate attractive returns for PSUs.
2. Private investment in Rail Infrastructure through Domestic and
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI);
Growth of Railway Sector depends heavily on availability of funds
for investment in rail infrastructure. Internal revenue sources and
government funding are insufficient to meet the requirement.
Hence, Ministry of Railways is seeking Cabinet approval to allow
FDI in Rail Sector.
3. Public Private Partnership:
There has been a lot of talk about public private partnership for
raising resources. Railways being a capital intensive sector have not
been successful so far in raising substantial resource through PPP
route. Madam Speaker, it is my endeavor to pursue this in right
earnestness. It is our target that bulk of our future projects will be
financed through PPP mode, including the high-speed rail which
requires huge investments.
Madam Speaker, apart from mobilizing resources, I also need to
strategically manage other aspects of railway planning and
administration.
4. To meet this end, I propose the following initiatives:
a) Near Plan Holiday approach;
b) Prioritizing and setting timelines for completion of the
ongoing projects;
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c) Devising a mechanism for raising funds for Rail
infrastructure;
d) Decision Support System for project implementation;
e) Strategic partnerships and transparency in procurements;
f) Aggressive indigenization of imported products;
g) Adopting safety standards matching international practices
and setting up of Simulation Center to study causes of
accidents.
h) Encouraging development of Locomotives, Coaches and
Wagon Leasing Market.
Now, Madam Speaker, let me place before this august House the
Financial Performance of 2013-14:
II. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 2013-14:
1. Since presentation of Interim Budget and passing of the 'Vote on
Account` in February last, financial position has undergone
a change. Madam Speaker, Railways carried 1050.18 million tonnes.
Goods Earnings were short only by ` 94 crore. Originating
passengers, also, were less by 46 million over Revised target and
Passenger earnings were short by ` 968 crore over Revised target.
2. Over all, though the Gross Traffic Receipts grew by 12.8% to reach
` 1,39,558 crore, it was short of Revised target by ` 942 crore. On the
other hand, Ordinary Working Expenses stood at ` 97,571 crore,
which was in excess by ` 511 crore.
3. Appropriation to Pension Fund had to be stepped up to match the
actual outgo.
4. As a result, instead of ending the year with a surplus
of ` 7,943 crore, the surplus was actually ` 3,783 crore i.e., a shortfall
of ` 4,160 crore. This is after fulfilling the dividend commitment
of ` 8,010 crore.
5. The internal resource generation for Plan, in 2013-14, was
` 11,710 crore, as against Revised target of ` 14,496 crore. This is
short by ` 2,786 crore.
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6. In simple language, in 2013-14, there was a decline in traffic growth
as compared to Revised projections. Expenditure however, shot up
and was more than what was estimated. The Operating Ratio
deteriorated by 2.7% over Revised target to touch 93.5% by end of
2013-14 fiscal.
7. So far as our Plan Expenditure for 2013-14 is concerned, it fell short
of Revised target of ` 59,359 crore mainly due to non-materialization
of PPP targets.
Madam Speaker, now I proceed to present before this House the
Budget Estimates for the year 2014-15.
III. BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR 2014-15:
1. Anticipating a healthier growth of economy, I hope to achieve total
receipts of ` 1,64,374 crore and would peg total expenditure at
` 1,49,176 crore.
2. I anticipate freight traffic growth of 4.9% amounting to
1,101.25 million tonne, an increment of 51.07 million tonne over
2013-14, based on trends in the first two months. I also anticipate
a small growth in Passenger Traffic over 2013-14. Earnings from
Freight Traffic are estimated at ` 1,05,770 crore and from Passenger
Traffic ` 44,645 crore.
3. The fare revision which came into effect from 25.06.2014 has
provided Railways a much needed respite however little it may be.
As I have considered the requests of the suburban passengers for
revision in monthly season ticket fares, the Revenue foregone on this
account would be around ` 610 crore.
4. Here I may point out that periodic revision in passenger fare and
freight rates, as approved by this august House, will be linked to
revisions in fuel prices in order to insulate the Railway revenues
from fuel cost escalation.
5. Madam Speaker, out of total expenditure, the ordinary
working expenses have been proposed at ` 1,12,649 crore, which is
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` 15,078 crore higher than 2013-14. This has been necessitated by fuel
price hike and increase in staff costs. Pension outgo in 2013-14 had
grown by about 16%. Keeping the same trend, provision for pension
is kept at ` 28,850 crore.
IV. ANNUAL PLAN 2014-15:
1. Madam Speaker, I thank the Finance Minister for extending
Additional Budgetary Support of ` 1,100 crore as Capital and
` 273 crore as Railway share from diesel cess for important Road
Safety works. Largely owing to this measure and to the additional
resource mobilization efforts, I propose to increase the plan outlay
under budgetary sources to ` 47,650 crore which is higher by
` 9,383 crore over 2013-14. A large part of this higher plan outlay
goes to safety related works which is also a high priority of our
Government.
2. As I have increased internal resource component of Plan, I propose
to scale down market borrowings through Indian Railway Finance
Corporation to ` 11,790 crore. Resources from PPP are kept at the
interim level.
3. Madam Speaker, time overruns and consequential cost escalations in
completion of most of the railway projects have been a chronic
worry of Railways for years. I propose to provide full financial
outlays to projects targeted for completion in the current year itself,
keeping in mind the priorities and safety. I have ensured adequate
allocations for 30 priority works for their timely progress.
4. It is my concern to allocate the available resources to high priority
areas like safety and capacity augmentation in train operations and
in improving amenities and services for passengers, with high
emphasis on cleanliness.
Madam Speaker, let me now spell out details of the focus areas of
this Budget:
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V. PASSENGER AMENITIES & STATION MANAGEMENT
Amenities at Stations:
1. In the passenger amenities, Indian Railways envisage to provide
foot-over bridges, escalators and lifts at all major stations including
through PPP route.
2. Indian Railways would make earnest attempt this year to provide
sufficient water supply, platform shelters and toilets at the Railway
Stations.
Passenger Amenities through private entity:
3. Indian Railways propose to extend service of Battery-operated Carts
to facilitate differently-abled and senior citizens to reach any
platform comfortably at all major stations.
4. We propose to involve individuals, NGOs, Trusts, Charitable
Institutions, Corporates, etc. to provide passenger amenities at
stations.
Office on Wheels:
5. As Indian Railways carry lot of business travellers who spend
substantial time on travel, in order to add best value to their time,
I propose to provide workstations in select trains on payment basis.
A pilot project will be launched by this year.
e-Booking of Railway Retiring Room:
6. Online booking facility of Railway Retiring Room will be extended
to all the stations during the course of the year.
7. Madam Speaker, extending passenger friendly services is the motto
of Indian Railways. In this direction, I am expanding the scope of
online booking:
People can book a Train
People can book a Coach
People can book a Berth and
People can book a Seat in Chair Car
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VI. CATERING
Madam Speaker, catering on Railways has been a major issue of
concern for long.
1. In order to improve the quality, hygiene of on-board catering
services and to provide variety, I propose to introduce Pre-cooked
(Ready-to-eat) Meals of reputed brands in a phased manner.
2. Further, I sincerely desire to bring perceptible improvement in the
catering services by introducing Quality Assurance Mechanism
through Third Party Audit by NABCB certified agencies.
In addition to the third party audit, a system of collecting feedback
through IVRS mechanism, from the travelling passengers on the
quality of food served, will be launched shortly.
If the service is not to the standards set, especially in hygiene and
the taste, severe action would be initiated against the vendors
including cancellation of the contract.
Food Courts at Stations and Regional Cuisine while onboard:-
3. Indian Railways also proposes to set up Food Courts at major
stations to provide the option of ordering regional cuisine while
onboard, through emails, SMS and Smart Phones, etc. A pilot project
will be started shortly between New Delhi-Amritsar and
New Delhi-Jammu Tawi sections.
VII. CLEANLINESS
Madam Speaker, `Cleanliness is next to Godliness', said Mahatma
Gandhi, our beloved Father of the Nation.
1. Madam, I am aware of the sorry state of affairs of cleanliness in the
trains and stations. Railways have been attaching high priority to
cleanliness, but it has always been a challenge to maintain the
acceptable level of cleanliness owing to the sheer number of
passengers handled at the stations.
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2. Madam Speaker, I have substantially increased budget allocation for
cleanliness in the current year, which is a 40% increase over the
previous year. I propose to outsource cleaning activities at 50 major
stations to professional agencies and to set up a separate
Housekeeping Wing to have focused attention and exclusive
responsibility of maintaining cleanliness and sanitation at stations.
3. Madam Speaker, a Corpus Fund for upkeep will be set up at
Stations.
4. Use of CCTVs at Stations will be extended to monitor cleanliness
activities. All-India level complaint / helpline number will be
printed on the back of all PRS tickets. System of periodic third-party
inspections will be introduced.
5. Further, Bio-toilets will be increased in sufficient numbers in trains
in order to mitigate the problem of direct discharge of human waste
on the tracks and platform aprons at stations.
6. Onboard Housekeeping Services, currently operational in 400 trains,
has received good feedback from passengers. This will be extended
to all the important trains. I also propose to increase Mechanized
Laundries in order to improve quality of the bedrolls provided in
AC Coaches.
Potable Water:
7. We will introduce on an experimental basis RO drinking water units
at Stations and in trains.
8. Reputed and willing NGOs, charitable institutions and Corporate
Houses will be encouraged to adopt and maintain stations for better
cleanliness and upkeep.
VIII. SAFETY
1. Madam Speaker, safety of passengers is of paramount importance
for Indian Railways. It is estimated that over ` 40,000 crore would be
needed to be invested in track renewals, elimination of unmanned
level crossing and construction of Road-under-bridges and
Road-over-bridges.
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2. I have received lot of requests from various States for construction of
Road-over-bridges and Road-under-bridges. I am making provision
of ` 1,785 crore for Road-under-bridges and Road-over-bridges in
this Budget. I would request concerned State Governments to
expedite their proposals and pass on their share of the cost. I have
decided to introduce a system of speedy clearances.
We intend to standardize designs and make these online. Delegation
shall be done so that power of sanctioning is decentralized.
Elimination of Unmanned Level Crossings
3. Indian Railways have 30348 Level Crossings, out of which 11563 are
unmanned. Each unmanned level crossing is being examined in
detail and depending on the site condition, action will be taken to
eliminate it by suitable modality.
4. Indian Railways propose to use modern Vehicle Borne Ultrasonic
Flaw Detection System to detect rail and weld fractures. In addition
Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System (UBRD) will also be tried at
two locations as a Pilot Project.
5. In order to improve the safety of travelling passengers, I propose to
bring in technology for automatic closing of doors before start of
train, both in main line and in sub-urban coaches. A pilot project for
limited number of trains will be taken up.
IX. SECURITY
1. In order to strengthen security in trains and at Stations, 17000 RPF
constables have been recruited and shall be shortly available for
deployment. We also propose to recruit 4000 women RPF constables.
2. In order to ensure security of ladies travelling alone, special
instructions are being issued for their safety in each class of travel.
With the induction of women RPF constables, coaches for ladies will
be escorted. Additional care will be taken for ladies travelling alone
in all classes.
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3. RPF escorting teams in trains will be provided mobile phones so that
passengers can contact them when in distress. Security helpline will
be augmented.
4. We will explore the possibility of building of boundary walls around
stations through PPP route.
X. RAIL TOURISM
1. Madam Speaker, I foresee a huge untapped potential in the field of
domestic tourism in our country. We plan to take up Eco-Tourism
and Education Tourism in North Eastern States.
2. Special Pilgrim Circuits like Devi Circuit, Jyotirling Circuit, Jain
Circuit, Christian Circuit, Muslim / Sufi Circuit, Sikh Circuit,
Buddhist Circuit, Famous Temple Circuit etc. have been identified.
I propose to introduce specially packaged trains for these circuits.
Private participation in this area will also be encouraged. I intend to
introduce some trains for Pilgrims and Tourists in short run also.
3. One Tourist Train will run from Gadag to Pandarpur via Bagalkot,
Bijapur and Solapur covering the pilgrim and tourist places of
Karnataka and Maharashtra. Another such train will start from
Rameshwaram covering pilgrim and tourist places like Bengaluru,
Chennai, Ayodhya, Varanasi and Haridwar. I also plan to run
a special train featuring life and work of Swami Vivekananda to
inculcate good moral values and propagate the teachings of Swami
Vivekananda.
XI. REVAMPING RAILWAY RESERVATION SYSTEM
1. Madam Speaker, Railway Reservation System will be revamped into
Next Generation e-Ticketing System. Ticket booking through mobile
phones and through Post Offices will be popularized.
2. We will improve the system capabilities in e-ticketing to support
7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 tickets per minute and allow
1,20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time.
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3. Facility of Coin Operated Automatic Ticket Vending Machines will
be experimented.
4. Efforts will also be made to provide facility of buying Platform
Tickets and unreserved tickets over internet.
5. Parking-cum-Platform Combo Tickets will be launched to facilitate
the passengers and to save their time.
XII. STRUCTURAL REFORMS
Madam Speaker, at the moment, the Railway Board, due to
overlapping roles of policy formulation and implementation, has
become unwieldy. Therefore, I propose to separate these two
functions.
XIII. STAFF WELFARE - CARE OF OUR RAILWAY FAMILY
Indian Railways has 13.1 lakh staff most of whom work on the
cutting edge of providing rail services. It is my duty that they are
taken care by providing adequate facilities. In this direction, I am
initiating the following:
i) Presently an amount of ` 500 per capita is contributed
towards Staff Benefit Fund. I propose to increase this amount
to ` 800 per capita.
ii) I propose to announce a special scheme for the meritorious
wards of Railway persons for their outstanding performance
in academics and sports for such children.
iii) The Hospital Management Information system will be used
to integrate all health units, Divisional hospitals and Central
Hospitals as well as our empanelled hospitals.
iv) Examine feasibility of providing air-conditioning in loco
cabins;
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XIV. SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF STAFF
1. I am contemplating on setting up of a Railway University for both
technical and non-technical subjects.
2. We will tie up with technical institutions for introducing railway
oriented subject for graduation and skill development.
In the meantime, staff at the ground level will be sent for short
duration courses of technical and non-technical nature, involving
locally available technical institutions. The exposure for specialized
areas like high-speed, heavy haul operations, etc. will be undertaken
for all level of staff and officers at appropriate institutes in India and
abroad.
XV. SPEED OF TRAINS
1. It is the wish and dream of every Indian that India runs a bullet train
as early as possible. Madam Speaker, Indian Railways is on its way
to fulfill that long cherished dream. We propose bullet trains by
starting off with an already identified Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector,
where a number of studies have been done.
2. Madam Speaker, it was the vision of our great leader,
Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee ji, that gave India the Golden
Quadrilateral Road Network. Today, under the leadership of
Shri Narendra Modiji, we are embarking on an ambitious plan to
have a Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail,
connecting major Metros and growth centers of the country.
A provision of ` 100 crore has been made in this Budget for high
Speed project to RVNL / HSRC (High Speed Rail Corridor) for
taking further steps.
3. Madam Speaker, while bullet trains would require completely new
infrastructure, higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by
upgrading the present network. Hence, an effort will be made to
increase the speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in select sectors so as to
significantly reduce travel time between major cities.
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The identified sectors are:
i) Delhi-Agra
ii) Delhi-Chandigarh
iii) Delhi-Kanpur
iv) Nagpur-Bilaspur
v) Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai
vi) Mumbai-Goa
vii) Mumbai-Ahmedabad
viii) Chennai-Hyderabad and
ix) Nagpur-Secunderabad.
XVI. I.T. INITIATIVES
1. Madam Speaker, as you know, the I.T. revolution has permeated
into all spheres of human life. It has not only made life comfortable,
but also made the service delivery efficient and the onus now is on
us to make governance transparent and accountable using
I.T. solutions.
2. Though Indian Railways has taken up computerization in a large
way, all the efforts have not been in synergized. Hence, the desired
results are not achieved. Need of the hour is to bring in a total
change in the work culture of Railways and delivery of Railway
Services by going in for large scale integrated computerization of
major functions of Indian Railways.
3. Madam Speaker, Indian Railways is also going for a computer
assisted Enterprise Resource Planning Solution, so that synergy is
brought in. To begin with, following initiatives will be taken up:
i) Moving towards paperless offices in Indian Railways
in 5 years;
ii) Next Generation Ticket Reservation System;
iii) Wi-fi Services in all A1 and A category stations and in select
trains;
iv) Real-time tracking of trains and rolling stock;
v) Mobile based Wakeup Call System for passengers;
vi) Mobile based Destination Arrival Alert;
vii) Station Navigation Information System;
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viii) Extension of Dual Display Fare Repeaters at all the Ticket
Counters through PPP;
ix) Digital reservation charts at Stations (Bengaluru model);
x) Extension of Computerized Parcel Management System;
xi) Extension of logistics support to various e-commerce
Companies by providing designated pick-up centres at
identified Stations;
xii) Providing education to children of Railway staff at remote
locations through Railtel OFC (optical fibre cable) network.
Digitization of GIS mapping of land assets of Indian Railways:
4. Indian Railways hold vast land assets which need to be digitized
and GIS mapped for better management and usage. This would help
Railways in protecting the lands as well as leveraging it for raising
resources. The resource mobilization using land assets will be
explored through private participation in setting up railway related
business in railway lands as well as for commercial development
XVII. INNOVATIONS INCUBATION CENTER
1. Madam Speaker, in an effort to keep pace with developments of the
modern world, Railways have to adopt and reinvent itself
constantly. Challenges of tomorrow cannot be met by the tools of
yesterday. In this direction, I propose to set up an Innovations
Incubation Center. This Center will harness the ideas generated
from the staff of Indian Railways and convert them into practical
solutions to increase efficiency of the system. Such innovations
which result in cost saving as well as revenue generation will be
suitably rewarded in the form of incentive.
2. As part of this exercise, I also propose to set up summer internships
for the under-graduates of engineering and management studies.
Students can intern at any of the various units of Railways
i.e. Divisions, PSUs and Production Units.
XVIII. GATHERING MORE RESOURCES
1. With a large backlog of sanctioned projects, funding continues to be
the biggest challenge for the Railways. While private investment and
customer funding for some port connectivity projects and few other
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Power Sector Projects has started, much more needs to happen if
infrastructure creation has to keep pace with the requirement.
We will interact with Industry and take further steps to attract
investment under PPP through BOT and Annuity route and 8 to 10
capacity augmentation projects on congested routes will be
identified for this purpose. Zonal Railways will be suitably
empowered to finalize and execute such projects.
2. Madam Speaker, Indian Railways has taken up port connectivity on
a priority through PPP mode of funding in tandem with Sagar Mala
Project of Port Development. Railways will facilitate connectivity to
the new and upcoming ports through private participation. So far, in
principle approval has been granted for building rail connectivity to
the Ports of Jaigarh, Dighi, Rewas, Hazira, Tuna, Dholera and
Astranga under Participative Model Policy of Indian Railways,
amounting to a total of over ` 4,000 crore.
Coal Connectivity
3. Railways will speed up construction of critical coal connectivity
lines in Tori-Shivpur-Kathautia Area, Jharsuguda-Barpalli-Sardega
and Bhupdeopur Raigarh- Mand Area. This will bring nearly
100 Million Tonnes of incremental traffic to railways and will also
facilitate faster transportation of coal to Power Houses.
Total Station Development
4. Madam Speaker, we will take up development of identified stations
to international standards with modern facilities and passenger
amenities on the lines of newly developed airports through
PPP mode. Initially, Indian Railways would develop at least
10 major stations of metro cities and important junctions with
state-of-the-art facilities, leveraging land and air space in and
around the stations.
Private Investment in Railway Logistics
5. Madam Speaker, Indian Railways propose to modernize its logistics
operations by setting up Logistic Parks that provide for
warehousing, packaging, labeling, distribution, door-to-door
delivery and consignment tracking. In order to achieve better
efficiency, mechanization of loading and unloading will be given top
priority.
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6. In the existing pattern of traffic movement of Indian Railways, more
than 33% of freight trains over the system run empty since return
traffic at existing freight rates is not forthcoming. In order to garner
additional revenue by a suitable pricing mechanism, I propose to
launch a pilot project whereby automatic rebate from the
computerized FOIS system will become available to customers
offering traffic over the present expected levels of loaded movement.
This would help reduce the empty flows on the Indian Railway
System apart from garnering additional revenue.
Parcel traffic:
7. While there has been incremental growth in our parcel earning, I see
a huge untapped potential in this segment which needs to be
trapped by the Indian Railways. At present, most of the parcel
business is hindering the movement of passengers on platforms.
It is, therefore, necessary that parcel traffic is segregated to separate
terminals where requisite facilities for storage/handling of parcels
are made available to the customers and parcel consignments move
in dedicated parcel trains running on fixed time table. Accordingly,
a scheme for private participation in parcel movement will be
launched shortly whereby procurement of parcel vans or parcel
rakes by private parties shall be facilitated.
8. A new design of parcel vans with better tare to pay load is being
finalized. It is expected that by putting these measures in place,
we would be able to substantially improve our earnings from the
parcel segment.
Private Freight Terminals (PFT)
9. To develop network of freight terminals, policy of Private Freight
Terminals on PPP model is being further refined.
Movement of Agri-Products
10. I propose to give a boost to rail movement of fruits and vegetables in
partnership with the Central Railside Warehousing Corporation
(CRWC) by providing requisite facilities of temperature controlled
storages at 10 locations viz Vatva, Vishakhapatna, Badagara,
Cheriyanad, Bhivandi Road, Azara, Navlur, Kalamboli and Sanand
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on Indian Railways in the first phase. The aggregation and
distribution from Railway terminal points shall be organized by the
CRWC. I hope, apart from avoiding national wastage of these
products, this would help producers of fruits and vegetable in
different parts of the country in getting better prices for their
produce.
11. Madam Speaker, Indian Railways propose to facilitate
transportation of milk through rail by providing special milk tanker
trains in association with National Dairy Development Board and
Amul.
XIX. ENERGY CONSERVATION
1. Madam, it is proposed to harness solar energy by utilizing roof top
spaces of Railway Stations, other Railway buildings and land,
including through the PPP mode.
2. Indian Railways will start using Bio-Diesel up to 5% of the total fuel
consumption in diesel locomotives. This will save precious foreign
exchange substantially.
XX. PROJECT COORDINATION & MANAGEMENT GROUP
Railways have been suffering heavily because of time overrun and
cost overrun due to poor project management. In order to overcome
delays in project execution, I propose to set up Project Management
Group at the level of Railway Board. Similarly, to expedite the
projects at the ground level, a Project Monitoring & Coordination
Group consisting of officials of State Government, Railways and
professionals will be set up.
XXI. TRANSPARENCY IN RAILWAY FUNCTIONING
1. Simplification of procedures and easy access to information bring
transparency and trust in public. Transparency in administration,
execution of projects and procurement will be given top priority.
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2. Strategic Procurement Policies will be adopted to make the
procurement process transparent and most efficient. E-procurement
will be made compulsory for procurements worth ` 25 lakhs
and above.
3. For the convenience of State Governments and other stakeholders,
the status of ongoing projects will be made available online.
XXII. CONNECTIVITY TO REMOTE AREAS
Expansion of railways in Hilly States & Northeast regions:
1. Madam Speaker, I am happy to inform the House that there are
23 projects underway in the Northeast, of which 11 are National
Projects. I propose to allocate substantially higher funds for these
projects compared to previous years. In 2014-15, an outlay of
` 5,116 crore is earmarked for projects of North-East. This is
54% jump over allocations in the previous year. With higher
allocations and by close monitoring of works in this region, I hope
that Dudhnoi-Mendipathar New Line; Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar
Gauge Conversion; Harmuti-Murkongselek and Balipara-
Bhalukpong sections will soon get commissioned. These measures
will also give a boost to the State capital connectivity projects in the
region.
2. Madam Speaker, this august House is already aware that the
Udhampur-Katra Rail link has recently been dedicated to Nation by
Hon'ble PM fulfilling the long cherished dream of millions of
pilgrims across the country. We have also tied up with Government
of J&K for bridging Udhampur-Banihal portion by bus so that
passengers can reach Srinagar with one single ticket from origin to
destination.
3. Now, Railways will focus on the completion of missing link of
Banihal to Katra.
XXIII.RAILWAY PROJECTS IN THE STATES OF ANDHRA PRADESH and
TELANGANA
1. There are 29 projects running in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at
an estimated cost of ` 20,680 crore. I intend to hold coordination
meetings with the officials of the newly created States and consider
their requirements so as to give necessary economic boost.
23
2. On the issues concerning Railways in the twin states of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana, a committee has already been set up of the
Railways and State Government officials. Further action will be
taken after receipt of the Report of the Committee.
XXIV.GIVING BOOST TO SUBURBAN TRAFFIC
Urban Transport
1. With the challenges posed by the steadily increasing urban
population concentration in metros and in million plus cities,
a holistic approach to urban transport is required. A smooth and
seamless inter-modal access is essential to improve urban mobility
and, therefore, a Passenger centric focus will be given to urban
transport infrastructure creation. We will coordinate with other
transport Ministries and urban bodies to develop optimal systems of
integration of Railways with other transport modes.
2. Mumbai city will get 864 additional state-of-the-art EMUs over
a period of two years. With completion of the conversion of traction
from 1500 Volts DC to 25 KV AC in Mumbai Suburban Railways, the
efficiency of operations would improve besides reducing cost of
operations.
3. Madam Speaker, as you are aware, Bengaluru with bustling
business activity attracts large commuters from surrounding rural
areas and towns necessitating better connectivity of Bengaluru City
with its suburban areas and hinterland. Study to Explore Possibility
of enhancing the existing IR network of Bengaluru for meeting the
above need will be taken up.
In addition, to cater to the demand of Passenger Traffic in Bengaluru
area, Byyappanahalli will be developed as a coaching terminal.
XXV. FREIGHT BUSINESS
Online Wagon Demand registration:
1. Online registration of demand for wagons will be launched in the
next two months. This will facilitate online payment of Wagon
Registration fee as well as registering demand for wagons. Further
a process for ERR (Electronic Railway Receipt) will also be initiated
during the year.
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2. Indian Railways propose to introduce corrosion-free wagons with
low tare weight for movement of salt.
3. Dedicated Freight Corridor Project Implementation of Eastern and
Western DFCs, a critical infrastructure project, will be closely
monitored. The World Bank loan agreement for
Kanpur-Mughalsarai section of Eastern corridor of Dedicated
Freight Corridor will be signed in the current year for
US$ 1100 million. During 2014-15, award of nearly 1000 kms of civil
construction contracts is targeted.
XXVI.TRAIN STOPPAGES
1. Ever since assuming office, I have received innumerable requests for
continuance of experimental stoppages from Hon'ble Members of
Parliament and various public representatives. I understand that
large number of stoppages have been provided on experimental
basis over a period of time. While I appreciate the wish of everyone
wanting a stoppage close to their place of work or residence, there is
a cost to the system for each stoppage. Also too many stoppages
result in slowing down of trains and increase the travel time
particularly for long distance passengers. If this trend continues,
most of our express trains will become passenger trains.
2. I would like to inform the House that I have allowed continuation of
these experimental stoppages for a further period of 3 months, that
is up to 30th of September 2014. These stoppages will be reviewed
solely on the basis of operational feasibility and commercial
justification. Demand for new stoppages hereafter will also be
considered on the same criteria. We will try to provide alternate
train connectivity to meet genuine demands of the public.
XXVII. SURVEYS
1. Besides expansion and capacity augmentation projects, assessment
of future needs and requirements in the form of providing
connectivity to hitherto unconnected regions, requirement of
movement of goods from new production / consumption centre
needs to be assessed on a continuous basis. I have also been
25
receiving requests for projects from the Hon'ble Members, State
governments and other public representatives. To honour their
requests, I propose to undertake 18 Surveys for New Lines and
10 Surveys for Doubling, 3rd & 4th line and Gauge Conversion
Projects in 2014-15. A list is appended at Annexure-1.
2. Surveys for Sagar-Chatarpur-Khujraho-Bhopal and Jabalpur-
Udaipura-Sagar New line have been completed. I will get them
examined expeditiously. Survey for Indore-Jabalpur New line will
be expedited.
3. I am happy to announce that the survey for Mysore-Kushalnagar
portion of Mysore-Kushalnagar-Medekere New line has been
completed and State Government has agreed to share cost of the
project. This will provide Rail connectivity to important tourist
destinations in Kodagu (Coorg). I propose to pursue this project for
obtaining requisite approvals after completion of remaining survey
up to Madikere.
4. A survey for new line between Tarighat and Ghazipur has been
completed. However, the same needs to be examined by extending
survey up to Mau so as to connect the line to the rail network
further. It will be undertaken expeditiously.
XXVIII. NEW TRAINS:
1. I would like to inform this august House that while I have received
innumerable requests from various quarters for running new train
services, resource constraints preclude me from meeting many of
them. Nonetheless, to meet the critical demands of the un-reserved
and reserved segments for different sectors, I have decided to run
Jansadharan group of trains and a Premium group of trains
respectively, including those announced in the interim Railway
Budget 2014-15. These services would be meeting the demand
surges which manifest themselves on special occasions. Special
trains would continue to run to meet the holiday and festival rush
including services for Melmaruvathur, Velankanni, Jhalawar etc. for
which I have received special requests from the public
representatives.
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2. I also propose to introduce 5 Jansadharan Trains, 5 Premium Trains,
6 AC Express Trains, 27 Express Trains, 8 Passenger Trains,
2 MEMU services and 5 DEMU services. Besides, I also propose to
extend the run of 11 existing trains. These have been listed at
Annexure-2.
Madam Speaker, I am aware that I would receive both praise and
criticism alike.
Lastly, I would like to recall a popular verse of Shri D.V. Gundappa,
a famous poet, philosopher and writer of Kannada, who wrote
under the penname Mankutimma.
Ç ®
¡ Ð Ð
¡ ¡ Ð
Å
Ì
"It is not that after reading this book, there will be no more doubts.
It is not that what we believe today will hold up forever.
If someone points at some shortcoming,
I have an open mind to correct.
But for now, I believe this is right."
Mankutimma
XXIX. With these words, Madam Speaker, I commend the Railway Budget for
2014-15 to the august House.
*****
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Ê / ANNEXURE
Ê
28
Annexure 1
(XXVII, Para No.1)
List of New Surveys
A) NEW LINES:
i) Kanhangad-Panathur-Kaniyuru
ii) Mughalsarai - Bhabua vai Naughar
iii) Hoshiarpur Amb - Andaura
iv) Aurangabad - Chalisgaon
v) Singrauli - Ghorawal Lusa
vi) Gabbur Bellary
vii) Shimoga Sringeri - Mangalore
viii) Badovan Jhargram via Chandil
ix) Talguppa-Siddapur
x) Bhabua-Mundeshwari
xi) Jind - Hissar
xii) Gadag- Harphanhalli (Updating)
xiii) Una-Hamirpur
xiv) Ujjain-Jhalawar-Agar-Susner-Soyath (Updating)
xv) Hissar-Narwana
xvi) Solapur-Tuljapur (Updating)
xvii) Rail connectivity to Char-Dham, Kedarnath, Badrinath, etc.
xviii) Rail connectivity to Iron ore mines between Nayagarh-Banspani
B) DOUBLING, 3rd and 4th LINES and GAUGE CONVERSION:-
i) Doubling of Jaipur - Kota
ii) Doubling of Chandna-Fort Nagbhir
iii) Doubling of Mangalore-Ullal - Surathkal
iv) Doubling of Rewari-Mahendergarh
v) Bhusawal- Badnera- Wardha 3rd line
vi) Kasara- Igatpuri 4th line
vii) Karjat-Lonavala 4th line
viii) Itarsi-Bhusawal 3rd line
ix) Gauge Conversion of Meter Gauge line in Ahmedabad area upto
Mahesana.
x) Gauge Conversion of Pilibhit-Shahjahanpur (Updating)
*****
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Annexure 2
(XXVIII, Para No.2)
List of new Jansadharan Trains, Premium Trains, AC Express Trains,
Express Trains, Passenger Trains, MEMU services, DEMU services and
Extension of run of existing Trains:
A) Jansadharan Trains
i) Ahmedabad Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat
ii) Jaynagar Mumbai Jansadharan Express
iii) Mumbai Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express
iv) Saharasa Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari
v) Saharasa Amritsar Jansadharan Express
B) Premium Trains
i) Mumbai Central New Delhi Premium AC Express
ii) Shalimar Chennai Premium AC Express
iii) Secunderabad- Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express
iv) Jaipur Madurai Premium Express
v) Kamakhya Bengaluru Premium Express
C) AC Express Trains
i) Vijayawada-New Delhi AP Express (Daily)
ii) Lokmanya Tilak (T) Lucknow (Weekly)
iii) Nagpur Pune (Weekly)
iv) Nagpur Amritsar (Weekly)
v) Naharlagun New Delhi (Weekly)
vi) Nizamuddin Pune (Weekly)
D) Express Trains
i) Ahmedabad Patna Express (Weekly) via Varanasi
ii) Ahmedabad - Chennai Express (Bi-weekly) via Vasai Road
iii) Bengaluru Mangalore Express (Daily)
iv) Bengaluru Shimoga Express (Bi-weekly)
v) Bandra (T) Jaipur Express (Weekly) Via Nagda, Kota
vi) Bidar Mumbai Express (Weekly)
vii) Chhapra Lucknow Express (Tri-weekly) via Ballia, Ghazipur,
Varanasi
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viii) Ferozpur Chandigarh Express (6 days a week)
ix) Guwahati Naharlagun Intercity Express (Daily)
x) Guwahati Murkongselek Intercity Express (Daily)
xi) Gorakhpur Anand Vihar Express (Weekly)
xii) Hapa Bilaspur Express (Weekly) via Nagpur
xiii) Hazur Saheb Nanded Bikaner Express (Weekly)
xiv) Indore Jammu Tawi Express (Weekly)
xv) Kamakhya Katra Express (Weekly) via Darbhanga
xvi) Kanpur Jammu Tawi Express (Bi-weekly)
xvii) Lokmanya Tilak (T) Azamgarh Express (Weekly)
xviii) Mumbai _ Kazipeth Express (Weekly) via Balharshah
xix) Mumbai Palitana Express (Weekly)
xx) New Delhi - Bhatinda Shatabdi Express (Bi-weekly)
xxi) New Delhi Varanasi Express (Daily)
xxii) Paradeep Howrah Express (Weekly)
xxiii) Paradeep Visakhapatnam Express (Weekly)
xxiv) Rajkot Rewa Express (Weekly)
xxv) Ramnagar Agra Express (Weekly)
xxvi) Tatanagar Baiyyappanahali (Bengaluru) Express (Weekly)
xxvii) Visakhapatnam Chennai Express (Weekly)
E) Passenger Trains
i) Bikaner Rewari Passenger (Daily)
ii) Dharwad Dandeli Passenger (Daily) via Alnavar
iii) Gorakhpur Nautanwa Passenger (Daily)
iv) Guwahati Mendipathar Passenger (Daily)
v) Hatia Rourkela Passenger
vi) Byndoor Kasaragod Passenger (Daily)
vii) Rangapara North Rangiya Passenger (Daily)
viii) Yesvantpur Tumkur Passenger (Daily)
F) MEMU services
i) Bengaluru Ramanagaram 6 days a week (3 Pairs)
ii) Palwal Delhi Aligarh
G) DEMU services
i) Bengaluru Neelmangala (Daily)
ii) Chhapra Manduadih (6 days a week) via Ballia
iii) Baramula Banihal (Daily)
iv) Sambalpur Rourkela (6 days a week)
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v) Yesvantpur- Hosur (6 days a week)
H) Extension of run of existing Trains
i) 22409/22410 Anand Vihar Sasaram Garib Rath Express to Gaya
ii) 12455/12456 Delhi Sarai Rohilla Sriganganagar Express to Bikaner
iii) 15231/15232 Gondia Muzaffarpur Express to Barauni
iv) 12001/12002 New Delhi Bhopal Shatabdi Express to Habibganj
v) 54602 Ludhiana Hissar Passenger to Sadulpur
vi) 55007/55008 Sonpur Kaptanganj Passenger to Gorakhpur
vii) 55072/55073 Gorakhpur Thawe Passenger to Siwan
viii) 63237/63238 Buxar Mughalsarai MEMU to Varanasi
ix) 63208/63211 Jhajha Patna MEMU to Jasidih
x) 64221/64222 Lucknow Hardoi MEMU to Shahjahanpur
xi) 68002/68007 Howrah Belda MEMU to Jaleswar
*****
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