surf india

Rail Budget Parliament Speech

Rail Budget Speech (Continued)

85. Madam, I had declared DFC as the “Diamond Rail Corridor” project of the Indian Railways. On the lines of DFC, we are now planning to go in for Dedicated Passenger Corridor (DPC), which I declare as the “Golden Rail Corridor” of the Indian Railways.

86. Construction of high speed passenger rail corridors is another transformational initiative that Railways will embark upon in the coming years. Indian Railways propose to invest in developing high speed corridors of 250 to 350 kmph speed. Already six corridors have been identified. These projects would require large investments and will be executed through PPP mode.

87. Madam, I am confident that high speed rail corridor will become a catalyst for India’s economic growth, a stimulus for the development of satellite towns and reduction of migration to metropolises. Therefore, I propose to set up a National High Speed Rail Authority for planning, standard setting, implementing and monitoring these projects. International Cooperation

88. We maintain good relations with our neighbours. Railway systems in these countries are facing several problems due to their relatively small and isolated networks. The Trans-Asian Railway network provides a great opportunity for their integration. Our Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh recently agreed to undertake the work to provide rail link between Akhaura on Bangladesh side and Agartala on Indian side. This link would also provide a shorter rail route between West Bengal and the north-eastern region via Bangladesh.

89. I have also decided to open our training institutions for the benefit of railway personnel from south and south-east Asian countries. I also propose to make available the facilities of the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for cooperative research and standardisation undertaken through the Asian Railways’ Association.

Progress on Accounting Reforms

90. Railways have already initiated an accounting reforms project that would enable it to move over gradually to an accrual based accounting system. On completion of this project, a road map for future will emerge enabling phased migration to a new accounting system within the broad framework as envisaged by GASAB (Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board. Earnings from non-core business

91. The untapped revenue potential from branding/advertising of railway properties will be harnessed to significantly increase earnings. The revenue is estimated to go up from Rs 150 crore to Rs 1,000 cr and will support the plan investment of the Railways.

Performance during 2009-10

92. The august House is aware that the Budget for the current year was formulated in the backdrop of VI Central Pay Commission and slowdown of the economy. A loading target of 882 million tonnes was set for the year along with growth of 4.8% in the passenger segment. I am happy to report that Indian Railways will surpass the freight loading target by at least 8 MT. This performance has been heartening. However, passenger segment has been below expectations and adverse weather conditions during winter in the northern part of India and rail rokos and agitations have severely impacted passenger earnings.

93. Madam, the impact of VI Pay Commission has greatly affected the revenue generation capacity of the railways. The provisions made for meeting the arrears and enhanced salaries and allowances in the Budget Estimates have proved inadequate. Railways have made efforts to absorb the additional requirements for staff expenses along with post-budgetary increases in diesel prices to a sizeable extent. This has been possible because of several austerity and economy measures implemented on the Railways to regulate and control expenditure. I believe in austerity and would impress on each railway employee to observe it strictly. Despite all our efforts to save, Railways had to provide additional funds of Rs 2,600 crore for meeting its mandatory liabilities of salaries and allowances against a higher requirement of Rs 4,590 crore. Pension liabilities have also been revised upward and are likely to be Rs 15,000 crore compared to Rs 14,000 crore in the Budget Estimates. Revised Estimates, 2009-10

94. Madam, considering the revised loading target of 890 MT, the freight earnings have been increased to Rs 58,716 crore which is Rs 191 crore more than the BE, while passenger earnings have been scaled down by Rs 252 crore to Rs 24,057 crore. Along with revised Other Coaching earnings of Rs 2,526 crore and Sundry Other earnings of Rs 2,982 crore, the total gross earnings has now been fixed at Rs 88,281 crore. The budgeted target of clearing Rs. 75 crore from Traffic Suspense has been maintained in the Revised Estimates. Gross Traffic Receipts have been reduced marginally from the Budget Estimates of Rs. 88,419 crore to Rs. 88,356 crore.

95. Ordinary Working Expenses have been raised to Rs 65,500 crore from Rs 62,900 crore in the BE 2009-10. After providing for Rs 4,500 crore and Rs 13,440 crore towards Depreciation Reserve Fund and Pension Fund respectively in the Revised Estimates, the Total Working Expenses are likely to be Rs 83,440 crore. After accounting for Miscellaneous Receipts of Rs 2,357 crore and Misc. Expenditure of Rs 783 crore, Net Revenue of the Railways is now revised to Rs 6,490 crore. After meeting the full Dividend liability of Rs 5,539 crore, the ‘Excess’ comes to Rs 951 crore. This would be appropriated to Development Fund to meet the Plan requirement.

96. To meet the shortfall in earnings and higher working expenses, the plan expenditure has been regulated in such a manner as to ensure that the progress of safety and other targeted works is not allowed to suffer. However, to achieve this, additional market borrowing of Rs.350 crore by the Indian Railway Finance Corporation would be necessary. With this the total market borrowings will increase from Rs. 9,170 crore to Rs. 9,520 crore. The revised plan investment is projected at Rs 40,284 crore including the investment on National Projects.

Budget Estimates for 2010-11

97. Madam, I shall now deal with the Budget Estimates for 2010-11. The target for freight loading for 2010-11 has been kept at 944 MT, an increase of 54 MT over RE 2009-10. Freight throughput has been projected at 623 billion NTKM. Budget Estimates for freight, passenger, sundry other earnings and other coaching earnings have been kept at Rs 62,489 crore, Rs 26,127 crore, Rs 3,171 crore and Rs 2,778 crore respectively. I intend to initiate special efforts to clear the outstanding dues of the Railways and thus a target of clearance of Rs 200 crore has been kept in the Budget Estimates. Gross Traffic Receipts have thus been projected at Rs 94,765 crore.

98. Madam, provision for Ordinary Working Expenses for 2010-11 has been kept at Rs 65,000 crore which is Rs 500 crore lower than the Revised Estimates for 2009-10. Appropriation to Depreciation Reserve Fund has been increased from Rs 4,500 crore in Revised Estimates 2009-10 to Rs 7,600 crore. Appropriation to Pension Fund has also been kept at Rs 14,500 crore. Thus the Total Working Expenses will be Rs 87,100 crore and Net Revenue Rs 9,782 crore. After meeting the estimated Dividend liability of Rs 6,609 crore, the projected ‘Excess’ is Rs 3,173 crore with the targeted Operating Ratio of 92.3%. The Excess is proposed to be appropriated to Development Fund (Rs 2,800 crore) and Capital Fund (Rs 373 crore). Annual Plan 2010-11

99. Madam, the Annual Plan outlay for the year 2010-11 has been proposed at Rs 41,426 crore, which is highest ever plan investment. The plan would be financed through Gross Budgetary Support of Rs 15,875 crore, Diesel Cess of Rs 877 crore, internal resources of Rs 14,523 crore and EBR of Rs 10,151 crore including market borrowing through IRFC of Rs 9,120 crore.

100. I am thankful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the Budgetary Support. However, as brought out categorically in the Vision 2020, the Railways’ require much higher investment in order to fund the projects on hand including the large shelf of socially desirable works.

101. Within the limited resources available, thrust is being given to expansion of the network. To achieve the target of 1,000 kms of new line set for year, the allocation has been increased substantially from Rs 2,848 crore to Rs 4,411 crore. Funding of Metropolitan Transport Projects has been increased by 55%. To continue Railways drive to improve passenger amenities, an allocation of Rs 1,302 crore has been compared to Rs 923 crore in 2009-10. Socially Desirable Rail Connectivity Proposals

102. In my last budget speech, I had highlighted the need to take up socially desirable projects connecting backward areas. Many proposals for such connectivity have been pending for a long time.

Surveys

103. On the basis of requests received from the Hon’ble Members, State Government and others, the following surveys are proposed to be taken up: New Line Surveys
i. Giddalur-Bakrapet
ii. Baptala-Nizampatnam-Reppalle
iii. Mellacheruvu-Janpahad
iv. Pagidipalli-Shankarpalli
v. Vijayanagaram-Palasa via Rajam
vi. Jogigopa to Guwahati via Barpeta, Sarthebari
vii. North Lakhimpur-Along-Silapathar
viii. Majhi-Lar Road via Raghunathpur, Darauli & Guthani
ix. Somnath-Kodinar
x. Rohtak-Hansi
xi. Bijwasan-Jhajjar-Charkridadri
xii. Delhi-Sohna-Nuh-Firozpur Jhirka-Alwar
xiii. Ghanoli-Dehradun via Baddi, Nalagarh, Jagadhari, Surajpur-Kala Amb- Paonta Saheb
xiv. Bijapur-Athani-Shedbal
xv. Chikaballapur - Gowribidanur
xvi. Padubidri-Karkala-Belthangady-Dharmashthala-Nettan
xvii. Byndoor-Kolluru-Halady-Hebri-Karkal-Moodabidri- Venoor- Belthangady-Dharmashthala-Nettane
xviii. Belur-Sringheri
xix. Nangli-Chittoor
xx. Krishnagiri-Chamrajnagar
xxi. Mysore-Kushalnagar-Madikere
xxii. Belgaum-Bagalkot-Raichur
xxiii. Marikuppam-Kuppam
xxiv. Belgaum-Samantwadi
xxv. Chenganur - Trivandrum via Adoor-Kottarakara.
xxvi. Gadchandur - Adilabad
xxvii. Bodhan-Bidar
xxviii. Nasik-Dhanu Road
xxix. Badisadri-Neemach
xxx. Guna-Aron-Sironj-Vasoda-Vidisha
xxxi. Sagar-Chatarpur-Khajuraho-Bhopal
xxxii. Talcher-Phulbani-Lanjigarh
xxxiii. Junagarh-Jaypore-Malkangiri-Bhadrachalam
xxxiv. Tanda-Hoshiarpur
xxxv. Bhiwani-Loharu-Pilani-Churu
xxxvi. Pushkar-Merta
xxxvii. Jaisalmer to Sanu via Hamira
xxxviii. Bharatpur-Deeg-Kama-Kosi
xxxix. Hamirpur - Hamirpur Road
xl. Phaphund-Konch
xli. Hastinapur-Meerut
xlii. Bacharwan-Lalganj
xliii. Kapilvasthu-Basti via Bhansi
xliv. Piran Kaliyar Sharif- Haridwar
xlv. Tanakpur-Bageshwar
xlvi. Tanakpur-Jauljivi
xlvii. Digha-Raichak-Kulpi
xlviii. Dimond Harbour-Budge Budge-Akra
xlix. Digha-Balichak (Debra)
l. Kanthi-Belda
li. Ikra-Churuliya-Gourandi
lii. Pandabeswar-Ikra
liii. Panathur – Kaaniyur
liv. Bongaon-Kalyani
lv. Ranaghat-Dattaphulia
Gauge Conversion Surveys
i. Lucknow- Sitapur-Lakhimpur- Pilibhit
ii. Ahmedabad-Botad & Dhasa-Jetalsar
Doubling Surveys
i. Manikgarh-Gadchandur
ii. Guwahati- Lumding- Tinsukhia- Dibrugarh
iii. Kiul-Gaya
iv. Kanpur-Manikpur
v. Mathura-Jhansi 3rd line
vi. Sirhind-Nangal Dam
vii. Guntur-Guntakal
Other Surveys
i. Howrah-Sealdah link
ii. Chhatarpatti Shivaji Terminal Mumbai-Churchgate link
iii. Bye-pass line at Rewari from Alwar to Sadulpur
iv. Byepass line with direct connection to Andal-Sainthia branch line
v. Grade separator at Kurla Yard National Projects

104. Madam I propose to draw up a Master Plan for the development of rail infrastructure in the Northeast region in consultation with the Northeast Development Council and the state authorities concerned.

105. On completion of the Quazigund-Anantnag section of Quazigund- Baramulla rail line in Kashmir Valley, train services were introduced from October 28, 2009. After review by the Expert Committee, work on Katra- Quazigund section has restarted. Priority is being given in construction of balance portion of the line from Udhampur to Katra and Katra to Quazigund.

106. In the northeast, ten projects have been declared as National Projects and adequate funds are being provided. The progress on some of the projects is getting affected by adverse law and order condition. However, Lumding-Silchar gauge conversion project has been given special priority for expeditious completion.

107. The work of Byrnihat-Shillong has also been included in this Budget as a National Project for providing rail connectivity to the capital of Meghalaya. New Lines

108. The sections which have either been completed or will be completed during 2009-10 are:
i. Quazigund – Anantnag of Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla
ii. Nagapattinam – Velankanni
iii. Jagdishpur-Nekpur of Rajgir – Tilaiya
iv. Sitamarhi – Runnisaidpur and Muzaffarpur – Jubbasani of Muzaffarpur - Sitamarhi
v. Tarakeswar-Talpur of Tarakeswar - Bishnupur
vi. Maheshpur – Nawadih of Giridih – Koderma
vii. Lanjigarh – Bhawanipatna of Lanjigarh – Junagarh
viii. Churaru Takrala – Amb Andura of Nangaldam – Talwara
ix. Rewari – Jhajjar of Rewari – Rohtak
x. Phulwaria-Bathuabazar
xi. Lohardaga-Barkichampi
xii. Rainagar-Matnasibpur of Bankura Damodar River Valley line
xiii. Kottur-Harihar

109. The sections covering 1021 kms proposed to be completed in 2010-11 are:

i. Ajmer - Pushkar
ii. Chandurbazar – Narkhed of Amravati – Narkhed
iii. Azimganj-Murshidabad with bridge over Bhagirathi
iv. Mandarhill – Hansdia and Rampurhat- Piragaria of Mandarhill – Rampurhat
v. Deoghar-Chandan of Deoghar-Sultanganj
vi. Biraul-Kusheshwarsthan of Sakri-Hassanpur
vii. Bhawanipatna – Junagarh of Lanjigarh – Junargarh
viii. Khurda – Begunia of Khurda – Bolangir
ix. New Coochbehar – Golakgunj of New Maynaguri – Jogighopa
x. Jhajjar-Rohtak of Rewari – Rohtak
xi. Taran Taran – Goindwal
xii. Abohar - Fazilka
xiii. Lalitpur – Udaipura of Lalitpur –Satna, Rewa – Singrauli
xiv. Agra – Fatehabad-Bah of Agra – Etawah
xv. Salem – Namakkal of Salem – Karur
xvi. Kadur-Kannihali of Kadur - Sakleshpur
xvii. Runnisaidpur – Jubbasani of Muzaffarpur – Sitamarhi
xviii. Nawadih – Dhanwar of Giridih – Koderma
xix. Daniawan-Biharsharif of Neora-Sheikhpura
xx. Barkakhana-Khajju of Koderma-Ranchi
xxi. Phulwarisharif-Patliputra
xxii. Nossam – Banganpalli of Nandyal – Yerraguntala
xxiii. Jagityal – Mortad of Peddapally – Nizamabad
xxiv. Gadwal – Pandurangswami of Gadwal – Raichur
xxv. Khanapur – Homnabad of Bidar – Gulbarga
xxvi. Ramganjmandi – Jhalawar of Ramganjmandi – Bhopal
xxvii. Lonad- Phalton of Baramati – Lonad
xxviii. Bathua Bazar-Panchdewari of Hathua-Bhatni
xxix. Maharajganj-Bisunpur Mahawari of Maharajganj-Rewaghat
xxx. Matnasibpur-Masagram of Bankura Damodar River Valley line
xxxi. Nagore-Karaikal
xxxii. Ghormara-Dumka
xxxiii. Vishnupuram-Janpahad

110. The following new line projects have been included in the Budget:-
i. Rishikesh-Karanprayag
ii. Digha-Jaleshwar
iii. Bagalkot-Kudachi
iv. Hasnabad-Hingalganj
v. Balurghat-Hilli
vi. Bhadrachalam Road-Sattupalli
vii. Kaliyaganj-Buniadpur
viii. Bowaichandi-Arambagh
ix. Tarakeshwar-Magra

111. The works of the sections Tarakeshwar-Champadanga, Arambagh-Irphala of Arambagh-Ghatal, Machlandpur-Swarupnagar, Budge Budge-Pujali, Prantik- Siuri, Tarakeshwar-Dhaniakhali, New Mal-Maynaguri Road, Dankuni- Furfurasharif, Gaya-Natesar (Nalanda), Nidamangalam-Mannargudi and Mandir Hasaud-Naya Raipur are being taken up.

112. Madam, Government is giving priority in providing rail connections to the neighbouring countries. Surveys for the five new lines have been conducted for rail connectivity with Nepal. Out of these lines, it is proposed to take up new line from Jogbani to Biratnagar and gauge conversion of Jayanagar to Bijalpura with extension to Bardibas.

Gauge Conversion

113. The sections which have either been completed or will be completed during 2009-10 are:
i. Pandharpur – Miraj of Miraj - Latur
ii. Ajmer – Phulera of Ajmer – Phulera – Rewari
iii. Cuddalore – Sirkazhi of Thanjavur – Villupuram
iv. Shimoga – Anandpuram of Shimoga – Talguppa
Saharsa – Dauram Madhepura of Mansi – Saharsa – Purnea
v.
vi. Mathura – Achnera
vii. Fakiragaram – Dhubri
viii. Haibargaon – Mairabari
ix. Sadulpur – Ratangarh – Degana
x. Balaghat – Katangi of Jabalpur – Gondia, Balaghat – Katangi
xi. Madanapalle – Dharmavaram of Dharmavaram – Pakala
xii. Vellore – Villupuram
xiii. Podanur-Coimbatore
xiv. Quilon – Punalur of Quilon – Tiruchchendur and Tenkasi – Virudunagar
xv. Baripada – Bangriposi of Rupsa – Bangriposi
xvi. Dabhoi –Bodeli of Pratapnagar – Chota Udepur
xvii. Wansjaliya – Jetalsar
xviii. Surendranagar – Dhrangadhra
xix. Bhildi – Samdari

114. Madam, target of 800 km has been fixed for Gauge Conversion in 2010- 11 including the following sections:
i. Barddhaman – Balgona of Barddhaman – Katwa
ii. Krishnanagar – Santipur
iii. Tirunelveli – Tenkasi of Quilon - Tiruchendur and Tenkasi – Virudunagar
iv. Mayiladuturai – Thiruvarur of Mayiladuturai – Karaikkudi
v. Bharuch – Samni – Dahej
vi. Aluabari – Siliguri
vii. Dindigul – Palani of Dindigul – Pollachi - Palakkad
viii. Anandpuram – Talguppa of Shimoga – Talguppa
ix. Chintamani – Chikballapur of Kolar – Chikballapur
x. Kaptanganj – Thawe of Kaptanganj – Thawe – Chhapra
xi. Ratangarh – Bikaner of Sadulpur – Bikaner
xii. Mavli – Nathdwara
xiii. Katihar-Tejnarayanpur
xiv. Sitamarhi-Bairgania of Jaynagar-Darbhanga-Narkatiaganj
xv. Bodeli-Chotta Udepur of Pratapnagar-Chotta Udepur

115. The following new gauge conversion works are proposed to be taken up:
i. Chhindwara-Nainpur-Mandla Fort
ii. Gwalior-Sheopurkalan with extension to Kota
iii. Dholpur-Sirmutra with extension to Gangapur City. Doubling

116. During the current year doubling of about 500 km is likely to be completed. The target for doubling of 700 km has been fixed for 2010-11. The following new doubling works have been included in the Budget:
i. Godhani-Kalumna
ii. Talcher-Sambalpur
iii. Sondalia-Champapukur
iv. Delang-Puri
v. Ambikakalna-Nabadwipdham
vi. Bethuadahari-Plassey
vii. Katwa-Patuli
viii. Jalandhar Cantt-Suchi Pind
ix. Sahibganj-Pirpainti
x. Santipur-Kalinarayanpur
xi. Lalgola-Jiaganj
xii. Azimganj-Manigram
xiii. Ambala Cantt-Dhapper
xiv. Chakki Bank-Bharoli
xv. Basantar Bridge on Sambha-Vijaypur Jammu
xvi. Nalhati-Sagardighi
xvii. Bhadohi-Janghai
xviii. Kathua-Madhopur Punjab
xix. Bhagat ki Kothi-Luni
xx. Abu Road-Sarotra Road
xxi. Sarotra Road-Karjoda
xxii. Swaroopganj-Abu Road
xxiii. Keshavganj-Swaroopganj
xxiv. Manchiryal-Peddampet
xxv. Tamluk-Basulya Sutahata
xxvi. Sini-Adityapur 3rd line
xxvii. Champajharan-Bimalgarh
xxviii. Dangoaposi-Rajkharswan 3rd line
xxix. Durg-Rajnandgaon 3rd line
xxx. Birur-Shivani
xxxi. Mile 5 B-New Alipore
xxxii. Hosdurga Road-Chikjajur
xxxiii. Ernakulam-Kumbalam
xxxiv. Viramgam-Surendarnagar
xxxv. Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Vasco-De-Gama

117. Madam, several State Governments are already sharing cost of some of the projects in their States. Further, State Governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have come forward for cost sharing of the following ongoing projects:
i. Hassan – Bangalore new line
ii. Kadur – Chickmagalur – Sakleshpur new line
iii. Doubling of Arasikere – Birur
iv. Gauge conversion of Kolar – Chikballapur
v. Ahmednagar – Beed – Parli Vaijnath new line
vi. Kotapalli – Narsapur new line

118. In addition, State Governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have proposed to take up new projects on cost sharing/PPP. These include the following new lines and doublings:
i. Wadsa – Desaiganj - Gadchiroli,
ii. Gadchandur – Adilabad
iii. Manmad – Indore
iv. Talguppa – Honavar
v. Shimoga – Harihar
vi. Whitefield – Kolar
vii. Gadag – Haveri
viii. Tumkur – Davangere
ix. Bijapur – Shahabad
x. Dharwad – Belgaum
xi. Nadikudi – Srikalahasti
xii. Bhadrachalam Road – Kovvur
xiii. Manuguru – Ramagundam
xiv. Akkanapet – Medak – Medchal
xv. Kondapalli – Kothagudem
xvi. Cumbum – Proddatur
xvii. Gadwal – Macherla
xviii. Doubling of Vijayawada–Gudivada–Machlipatnam–Bhimavaram– Narsapur/ Nidadavolu
xix. Doubling of Guntur – Tenali – Repalle

119. Madam, Railways will consider on priority new proposals from State Governments for construction of rail infrastructure in their states if they agree to funding on PPP basis. Port Connectivity

120. In order to promote industrial activity, the State Governments and the Centre are giving thrust on the development of the ports. Ports are expected in the States of Gujarat - Porbander, Sutrapada, Dholera, Mahuva, Hazira, Tuna; Maharashtra - Revas, Dharamtar, Dighi; Karnataka – Karwar; Kerala - Azhikkal, Beypore, Thalassery; Orissa - Astranga, Chudamani, Gopalpur; Andhra Pradesh - Vodarevu, Nizampatnam; West Bengal – Sagar Kapil Muni, Haldia.

121. Railways will welcome participation under PPP for providing rail connectivity to such ports. Railway Electrification

122. I am happy to inform the Hon’ble Members that Indian Railways would be completing about 2,300 route kms of electrification in the first three years of the XI Plan against the target of 3500 kms for the five year period. Another 2,000 kms are planned in the remaining two years. Of the 14,000 route kms identified as prospective routes for electrification in the Vision 2020, following
sections would be taken up in the next year:
i. Gondia-Ballarshah via Nagbhir
ii. Daund-Manmad
iii. Khana-Sainthia-Pakur & Pandabeshwar-Sainthia

123. The following sections are under active consideration:
i. Vizianagram-Raigada
ii. Mathura-Alwar-Rewari-Hissar
iii. Guntakal-Bellary-Hospet-Vasco de gama
124. In addition to above, feasibility studies for the following sections will be undertaken:
i. Bardhaman-Katwa-New Farakka including Katwa-Ahmadpur
ii. Chheoki-Manikpur-Itarsi
iii. Chhapra-Varanasi-Allahabad including Bhatni-Aunrihar and Phephna- Indara
iv. Garwa Road-Chopan-Singrauli including Chunar-Chopan
v. Pakur-Kumedpur including Gumani-Sahibganj
vi. Angul-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda
vii. Kiul-Tillaiyya-Manpur
viii. New Bongoigaon-Jogighopa-Kamakhya
ix. Bankura-Rainanagar
x. Fatwa-Islampur-Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir
xi. Vijaywada-Niduduvolu including Machhlipatnam & Narsapur
xii. Falaknuma – Umdanagar
xiii. Secunderabad – Medchal
Optic Fibre Cables

125. Indian Railways already has a network of 37,000 kms of optic fibre cables and work on adding another 12,000 kms is in progress. The balance 15,000 kms is proposed to be taken up through PPP route, thus covering the entire railway network. It is also proposed to utilise this OFC infrastructure to extend broadband services with last mile connectivity on PPP basis to urban and rural areas.
Kolkata Metro

126. Kolkata Metro is the only metro with the Indian Railways. The section from Tollygunge to Garia Bazar has been commissioned recently. The balance section up to New Garia is likely to be completed soon. Extension from Dum Dum to Baranagar has also started. Railways proposes to redevelop / re-model and rename the metro
stations of Park Circus as Mother Teresa, Maidan as Gostho Pal, M.G. Road as Thakurbari, Chandni Chowk as Tipu Sultan and Rash Behari as Bhagat Singh.

127. To further strengthen metro network, the following extensions have been included in the Budget:
i. Joka-BBD Bag via Majerhat
ii. Noapara – Barasat via Bimanbandar
iii. Dum Dum – New Garia via Rajarhat
iv. Baranagar – Barrackpore and Baranagar - Dakshineshwar
New Service
Suburban services

128. Suburban services are the lifeline of major metropolitan cities.

129. Suburban services will be augmented over the Mumbai area, 101 additional services are proposed to be introduced with 32 services in Thane/Kalyan to Kasara/Karjat/Khopoli, 16 services on the Mainline, 18 services on the Harbour line and 35 services on trans-Harbour line.

130. Works for the improvement of Mumbai suburban area under MUTP Phase I is likely to be completed by end of this year. Work under MUTP Phase II has been planned and is targeted for completion by March 2014.

131. In Chennai region, new services will be introduced over Chennai Central – Sullurpeta – Chennai Beach, Chennai beach – Velachery- Chennai Beach (on the MRTS), Chennai Beach- Tiruttani – Chennai Central, Chennai Central- Arakkonam- Chennai Central. Work on the extension of MRTS Phase II from Velachary to St. Thomas Mount is in progress and targeted for completion by March 2012.

132. Similarly, new services will be introduced in Kolkata area in the sections of Sealdah-Kalyani, Sealdah-Canning, Sealdah-Namkhana, Sealdah-Bangaon, Howrah-Tarakeswar-Bandel–Barddhwan, Sealdah–Ranaghat and Sealdah– Kolkata (via Ballygunge- Majerhat–B.B.D. Bagh). A survey will be conducted linking Howrah and Sealdah.

133. Ballygunge is a very important junction station but has no basic facilities such as waiting hall, toilets and approach road. I propose a new station building in Ballygunge to overcome these shortcomings, and rename the station as Bahadur Shah Zafar station. Sanskriti Express – Epar Bangla, Opar Bangla

134. To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore and to disseminate his legacy to the young generation, Railways propose to run a special train – Sanskriti Express - across the country.

135. Tagore is the only poet in the world whose poems have been adopted as National Anthems by two countries – Amar Sonar Bangla for Bangladesh and Jana Gana Mana for India. Tagore lived and produced many of his literary jewels in undivided Bengal. In homage to this great savant and to strengthen the maitree between Bangladesh and India, it is proposed to run a special train in consultation with the Government of Bangladesh across the border so that the two countries share the opportunity of celebrating the 150th birth anniversary jointly.

Matribhoomi Trains

136. Madam, mothers nurture the future generations of the country and we take pride that they have now stepped out of their houses to make contributions as a workforce in the country. In order to improve their travel on rail, I have introduced 21 ladies specials on the railway network in major cities of Kolkata, Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai. In recognition of their role in the Nation’s destiny, I have named these trains Matribhoomi specials. The following Matribhoomi specials will be run in the suburban sections of the major metropolises:

i. Delhi-Panipat
ii. Kolkata
a. Barasat – Sealdah
b. Krishnanagar - Sealdah
iii. Falaknuma – Lingampalli
iv. Mumbai
a. Thane-Vashi
b. Panvel – Nerul - Thane
Karmabhoomi Trains

137. The following unreserved trains are being proposed for the common people:
i. Darbhanga-Mumbai Express (Weekly)
ii. Guwahati-Mumbai(Weekly) via Howrah-Tatanagar-Jharsuguda- Bilaspur-Nagpur
iii. New Jalpaiguri – Amritsar (Weekly) via Katihar - Sitapur
Janmabhoomi Trains
138. The country is proud of our men in uniform who protect our borders under very difficult conditions. For a very long time there were no rail connections among different cities in the western sector. The infrastructure development by the railways by way of gauge conversion and new line works has now facilitated a direct connectivity. I, therefore, dedicate a new express train service, Janmabhoomi, between Ahmedabad and Udhampur every week linking Jodhpur, Phalodi, Lalgarh, Biradhwal, Pilibanga, Mahajan, Suratgarh, Hanumangarh, Bhatinda, Faridkot, Firozpur, Jalandher, Chakki bank, Samba, Bari Brahman, Jammu-Tawi and Udhampur.
Bharat Tirth Trains
139. To support government’s effort of promoting tourism in our country, Railways will launch special tourist trains called “Bharat Tirth” connecting popular tourist sites in different parts of the country - from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, from Dwarka to Vindhya Parbat, from Ajmer Sharief to Gangasagar and from Madurai to Patna Sahib. The running of “Bharat Tirth” is to emphasise our “Unity in Diversity” and will bring to reality Kabiguru’s words in our National Anthem:
Punj ba Sindhu Gujar t Mar th
Dr vida Utkala Banga
Vindhya Him chala Yamun Gang

140. The “Bharat Tirth” trains are proposed to be run on the following routes covering places of tourist importance, the detailed itineraries of which will be advertised from time to time:-
i. Howrah-Gaya-Agra- Mathura- Vrindavan -New Delhi-Haridwar- Varanasi-Howrah
ii. Howrah-Chennai- Puducherry- Madurai – Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari- Bangalore – Mysore – Chennai-Howrah
iii. Howrah- Vizag- Hyderabad- Araku- Howrah
iv. Howrah – Varanasi- Jammu Tawi- Amritsar- Haridwar- Mathura- Vrindavan- Allahabad- Howrah
v. Howrah-Ajmer- Udaipur- Jodhpur- Bikaner- Jaipur- Howrah
vi. Mumbai- Pune- Tirupati- Kancheepuram- Rameshwaram- Madurai- Kanyakumari-Pune- Mumbai
vii. Pune-Jaipur-Nathdwara-Ranakpur-Jaipur-Mathura-Agra-Haridwar- Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Pune
viii. Pune-Ratnagiri-Goa-Bangalore-Mysore-Tirupati-Pune
ix. Ahmedabad-Puri-Kolkata-Gangasagar-Varanasi-Allahabad-Indore- Omkareshwar-Ujjain-Ahmedabad
x. Bhopal-Dwarka-Somnath-Udaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur-Jaipur-Mathura- Vrindavan -Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Bhopal
xi. Bhopal-Tirupati-Kanchipuram-Rameshwaram-Madurai-Kanyakumari- Trivandrum-Cochin-Bhopal
xii. Madurai-Chennai-Kopargaon-Mantralayam-Chennai-Madurai
xiii. Madurai-Erode-Pune-Ujjain-Veraval-Nasik-Hyderabad-Chennai-Madurai
xiv. Madurai-Chennai-Jaipur-Delhi-Mathura -Vrindavan -Allahabad- Varanasi-Gaya-Chennai-Madurai
xv. Madurai-Varanasi-Gaya-Patna Sahib-Allahabad-Haridwar-Chandigarh- Kurukshetra-Amritsar-Delhi-Madurai
xvi. Madurai-Mysore-Goa-Mumbai-Aurangabad-Hyderabad-Madurai Duronto Services

141. For the first time in our history, a new train service called Duronto was introduced. These provide non-stop point to point services between cities offering large volumes of traffic. This service is cheaper and faster compared to Rajdhani trains and has been very well received by the travelling public. I have, therefore, decided to introduce the following Duronto train services this year:
i. Yeswantpur (Bangalore) -Delhi (AC) (Weekly)
ii. Mumbai-Secunderabad AC (Bi-weekly)
iii. Pune –Howrah AC (Bi- weekly)
Mumbai-Ernakulam AC (Bi-weekly)
iv.
v. Indore- Mumbai AC (Bi-weekly)
vi. Jaipur-Mumbai AC (Bi-weekly)
142. I propose to introduce the following Durontos, to run in the day time:
i. Chandigarh -Amritsar
ii. Chennai – Coimbatore
iii. Puri - Howrah
iv. Howrah- Digha

143. In addition to the above, in view of the increasing demand of the passengers, the following long distance new services are being proposed:
i. Sultanpur-Mumbai Express (via Nihalgarh) (Weekly)
ii. Sultanpur-Ajmer Express (via Nihalgarh) (Weekly)
iii. Asansol-Digha Express (Weekly)
iv. Howrah-Katpadi(Vellore)-Puducherry Express via Bhubaneswar (Weekly)
v. Kishanganj-Ajmer Express (Weekly)
vi. Kolkata-Ajmer Express via Singrauli-Katni-Bhopal-Nagda-Ratlam (Weekly)
vii. Kolkata- Anandpur Sahib- Nangaldam Express (Weekly)
viii. Una-Haridwar Link Express (Tri-weekly)
ix. Siuri-Prantik-Howrah Express (Daily)
Haldia - Chennai Express (Weekly)
x. xi. Hyderabad-Ajmer Express (Bi-weekly)
xii. Rajgir-Howrah via Tilaiya-Koderma (Tri-weekly)
xiii. Mumbai-Shirdi Intercity Express (Tri-weekly)
xiv. Haridwar- Mumbai CST AC Express (Bi-weekly)
xv. Valsad-Haridwar Express (Weekly)
xvi. Ajmer –Indore Link Express (Daily)
xvii. Nagercoil-Bangalore Express (Weekly) via Madurai-Hosur
xviii. Kanpur - Chitrakoot Express (Daily)
xix. New Jalpaiguri - Chennai Express (Weekly)
xx. Delhi Sarai Rohilla - Sri Ganganagar Express (Tri-weekly) via Bhatinda
xxi. Mangalore -Tiruchchirapalli Express (Weekly)
xxii. Bhubaneswar-Pune Express (Weekly)
xxiii. Habibganj-Jabalpur Intercity Express (Daily)
xxiv. Calicut-Thiruvananthpuram Janshatabdi Express (5 days a Week)
xxv. Pune - Ernakulam Superfast (Bi-weekly) via Panvel
xxvi. Coimbatore-Tirupati Intercity Express via Salem (Tri-weekly)
xxvii. Shimoga-Mysore Intercity Express (Daily)
xxviii. Bangalore-Tirupati Intercity Express via Bangarapet (Tri-weekly)
xxix. Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur) - Solapur Express (Daily)
xxx. Jaipur-Pune Express (Weekly)
xxxi. Ranchi-Jaynagar Express (Tri-weekly)
xxxii. Madurai-Tirupati Express (Bi-weekly)
xxxiii. Tirupati -Secunderabad Express (Bi-weekly) via Pakalle - Madanpalle Road
xxxiv. Sambalpur-Howrah Express (Weekly)
xxxv. Ahmedabad-Agra Express (Tri-weekly)
xxxvi. Gonda- Manduadih (Varanasi) Intercity (Daily)
xxxvii. Running of independent trains between Bangalore - Hubli and Bangalore- Nanded by delinking of 6591/6592 Bangalore-Hubli Hampi Express from 6593/6594 Bangalore-Nanded Express
xxxviii. Running of independent trains between Hyderabad-Tirupati(Daily), Hyderbad-Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Bi-weekly) and Tirupati- Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Daily) by delinking 7416/7429/7430 Haripriya and Rayalseema Express
xxxix. Secunderabad-Manuguru Express (Tri-weekly)
xl. Alipurduar – Lumding Intercity Express (Daily)
xli. Guwahati - Mariani Intercity Express (Daily)
xlii. Gandhidham - Jodhpur Express via Bhildi (Tri-weekly)
xliii. Rajkot – Porbander Express (via Jetalsar) (Tri-weekly)
xliv. Kolkata – Darbhanga Express (Bi- weekly)
xlv. Howrah – Berhampur Express (Tri- weekly)
xlvi. Baripada – Shalimar Intercity Express (Tri – weekly)
xlvii. Kharagpur – Purulia Intercity Express (Tri- weekly)
xlviii. Gwalior – Chhindwara Express (Bi- weekly)
xlix. Rampurhat – Sealdah Intercity Express (Tri- weekly)
l. Howrah – Shirdi Express (Weekly)
li. Puri – Valsad Express (Weekly) via Katni- Bhopal – Vadodara
lii. Puri-Digha Express (Weekly)

144. Madam, I would further like to assure the House that 2937/2938 Gandhidham–Howrah Express will be started by the 10th of March, 2010. Passenger trains

145. A large volume of Rail travel consists of short distance traffic. This traffic which utilizes conventional passenger trains, MEMUs and DEMUs has been showing encouraging growth and to address to this segment of traffic, the following passenger trains are proposed to be introduced during the year 2010- 11:
i. Chittaranjan-Kolkata Passenger
ii. Sealdah-Krishnanagar Passenger
iii. Haldibari-New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri Passenger
iv. Balaghat-Katangi Passenger
v. Tatanagar-Hatia Passenger via Chandil-Purulia-Muri
vi. Miraj-Parli Passenger
vii. Miraj-Pandharpur Passenger
viii. Jhansi-Banda Passenger
ix. New Jalpaiguri-Dinahat-Bamanhat Passenger
x. Nilambur Road-Shoranur Passenger
xi. Tiruchendur-Tirunelveli Passenger
xii. Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur Passenger
Bhubaneswar-Khurda Road Passenger
xiii.
xiv. Bangalore-Neelamangala Passenger
xv. Bagalkot – Gadag Passenger
xvi. Kozhikode- Kannur Passenger
xvii. Dharmanagar-Manu Passenger
xviii. Patna – Sasaram via Ara Passenger (to be extended to Bhabua Road upon development of terminal facilities)
xix. Coimbatore-Pollachi Passenger(after gauge conversion)
xx. Aunrihar -Jaunpur Passenger (after gauge conversion)
xxi. Bareilly-Lalkuan Passenger (after gauge conversion)
xxii. Katihar-Teznarayanpur Passenger (after gauge conversion)
xxiii. Fakiragram-Dhubri Passenger (after gauge conversion)
xxiv. Rewari-Degana Passenger via Ratangarh (after gauge conversion)
xxv. Bhildi-Samdari Passenger(after gauge conversion)
xxvi. Naupada-Gunupur Passenger (after gauge conversion)
xxvii. Hospet- Harihar Passenger (after gauge conversion)
xxviii. Tirupati-Madanpalle Road - Kurabakota Passenger (after gauge conversion)
MEMUs
i. Tirupati-Nellore-Chennai
ii. Salem-Katpadi
iii. Vijaywada-Guntur-Tenali
iv. Coimbatore-Erode
v. Howrah-Midnapur
vi. Dhanbad- Jhargram via Purulia
vii. Ghatsila -Howrah
viii. Ernakulam-Kollam
ix. Restoration of Andal-Jasidih via Jamuria-Barbani
DEMU Service

146. On gauge conversion of the Aluabari-Siliguri section, I propose to introduce DEMU service in this section which will provide a ring-rail type service between Aluabari, Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri. The following DEMU services will also be introduced
i. Kacheguda-Mahboobnagar
ii. Kacheguda-Miryalguda
iii. Qazigund-Baramulla
iv. Krishnanagar-Farakka
v. Malda Town-Coochbehar
vi. Malda Town-Balurghat
vii. Bakhtiyarpur-Gaya
viii. Hoshiarpur - Amritsar
Increase in frequency of trains
i. 2245/2246 Howrah-Yesvantpur Duronto Express from weekly to 4 days
ii. 3149/3150 Sealdah-Alipurduar Kanchen Kanya Express from 4 days to daily
iii. 2377/2378 Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri Padatik Express from 3 days to 6 days
iv. 2295/2296 Patna-Bangalore Sanghamitra Express from 6 days to daily
v. 2251/2252 Korba-Yesvantpur Express from weekly to 2 days
vi. 6605/6606 Mangalore-Kochuveli Ernad Express from 3 days to daily
vii. 2933/2934 Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Express from 6 days to daily
viii. 2215/2216 Bandra Terminus-Delhi Sarai Rohilla from 3 days to 4 days
ix. 2807/2808 Visakhapatnam-Nizamuddin Samata Express from 3 days to 5 days
x. 4705/4706 Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Sadulpur Express from 3 days to 6 days
xi. 2981/2982 Udaipur City- Delhi Sarai Rohilla Chetak Express from 3 days to 4 days
xii. 2447/2448 Manikpur – Hazrat Nizammudin Uttar Pradesh Sampark Kranti Express from 3 days to daily
Extension of trains
i. 7001/7002 Secunderabad-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Bi-weekly)
ii. 7205/7206 Kakinada-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Weekly)
iii. 1405/1406 Kakinada -Manmad Express to Shirdi (Bi-weekly)
iv. 7207/7208 Vijaywada-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Weekly)
v. 6341/6342 Thiruvanthapuram-Ernakulam Express to Guruvayur (Daily)
vi. 7639/7640 Kacheguda-Nanded Express to Akola (Daily)
vii. 2187/2188 Mumbai CST-Jabalpur Express to Allahabad (Bi-weekly)
viii. 2235/2236 New Delhi - Guwahati Rajdhani Express to Dibrugarh
ix. 2777/2778 Yesvantpur-Kochuveli Express to Hubli (weekly)
x. 2831/2832 Bhubaneswer-Hatia Express to Dhanbad (Tri-weekly)
xi. 8425/8426 Puri –Raipur Express to Durg
xii. 8447/8448 Bhubaneswar-Koraput Express to Jagdalpur
xiii. 209/210 Puri-Dhenkanal Passenger to Talcher Road (Daily)
xiv. 1629 Sangali-Miraj to Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur) (Daily)
xv. 1610 Miraj-Pune to Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur) (Daily)
xvi. 1551/1552 Pune-Daund to Baramati (Daily)
xvii. 531A/532A Parli-Nizamabad Passenger to Pandharpur
xviii. 623/624 Mangalore-Kannur Passenger to Kozhikode
xix. 353/354 Dharwar-Gadag Passenger to Solapur
xx. 1704 Chirmiri-Damoh Passenger to Sagour
xxi. 1703A Damoh-Katni Passenger to Sagour
A Gesture

147. Hon’ble members are well aware of the hardship being faced by the common people by the high inflationary trend especially in food prices. I understand their distress. Despite Railways’ own tight resource position, I announce a reduction of Rs 100 per wagon in freight charges for food-grains for domestic use and kerosene. This is a small gesture to express our concern. Concessions

148. Madam, in the last Budget, I had announced several concessions under Izzat scheme, for Press Correspondents and students of madrasas, high madrasas and senior madrasas. These have been very popular and I propose to continue with these concessions.

149. The enormous contribution of the Indian film industry to the promotion of art and culture is known to all of us. There are people behind the screen whose contribution is not so well known to many of us. I propose that technicians of regional film industry when travelling for film production related work will be eligible for 75% concession in Second Sleeper, 50% concession in First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier in all trains including Rajdhani/Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdis.

150. Madam, Railways at present grant a concession of 75% in 3 AC and Sleeper Class to cancer patients going for treatment, together with an escort. I now propose to enhance this concession to cancer patients up to 100% in 3 AC and Sleeper Class.

151. Press correspondents are currently extended a concession of 50% for their travel along with spouse, once a year. I now propose to extend this concession to companion of those correspondents who do not have a spouse, and dependent children up to 18 years, once a year. Service Charge on e-ticket

152. Indian Railways provide the facility of issuing e-tickets, through IRCTC, by utilising internet services. At present, a maximum service charge of Rs 15 for Sleeper Class and Rs.40 for AC Class tickets is levied. I propose to reduce the maximum limit of service charge to Rs.10 for Sleeper Class and Rs.20 for AC Class.

153. Madam, I am aware that the hon’ble members are anxiously waiting to hear my announcement about tariffs. In the present economic situation, when the country is about to return on a high growth path, I do not wish to impose any burden on the citizens. Therefore, I do not propose any increase in the passenger fares of any class or category of trains. Similarly, I do not intend to increase freight tariffs.

154. This year’s budget is a humble yet earnest effort to move in the direction of Vision 2020. I assure the Hon’ble Members that better days are ahead for the Indian Railways. Just as highway, telecom, IT, airport and port sectors have taken off, the Railway sector will also see exponential growth in the years to come.

155. In seven months, whatever best was possible we tried and we fulfilled our commitments on a range of issues. Within limited funds, we have to make a beginning. We will need to plan for the coming years to achieve the goals of Vision 2020.

I am always positive and optimistic. I believe in the phrase “never say no”, and I cannot say no. My response always is “Yes we will”. Let us do jobs with transparency. We can conquer the minds of the people through our activities. Strength is our medicine and spirit is our morale. Let us be bold, determined, devoted and sincere in our efforts. Nahi Nahi Bhay, Hobey Hobey Jai Khule Jabe Ei Dwar (Fear not, victory is inevitable and the door will swing open)
With these words, Madam, I commend the Railway Budget for 2010-11 to the House.