– No increase in fares.
– Earnings for 2010-11 set to exceed Rs.1 lakh crore.
– Working expenditure during 2011-12 estimated at Rs.87,000 crore.
– Outlay of Rs.57,630 crore for 2011-12, the highest investment in one year.
– Rs.10,000 crore to be raised through railway bonds.
– Budget combines strong economic focus with inclusion.
– Will develop business-oriented policies to aid industry.
– Happy to announce 85 PPP proposals received; set up single-window system to take these forward.
– Decided to set-up rail-based industries.
– Passing through a difficult phase; 97 percent increase in expenditure in 2010-11 due to implementation of Sixth Pay Commission report.
– Loss of Rs.3,500 crore in 2010-11.
– Ten-year backlog of 1.75 lakh jobs being addressed; 16,000 ex-servicemen to be given jobs in railways.
– Safety first priority; accident rate has come down.
– Anti-collision device, successful in North West Frontier Railway, to be extended to three more zonal railways.
– Railways always been a soft target but law and order a state subject. If railways are blocked in one region, this has a snowballing effect in other parts of the country.
– Will add 180 km of rail lines in 2011-12.
– All-India security helpline set up.
– New Durantos to be run on Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Madurai-Chennai routes, among others.
– Rail linkage to Gujarat from Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor.
– Integrated suburban network to be set up in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and other cities; suburban system of Hyderabad to be strengthened.
– Mumbai suburban system’s EMU coaches to be increased from nine to 12.
– Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojna to be launched.
– Industrial park to be set up in Nandigram, West Bengal.
– Railways to set up factory in Jammu and Kashmir.
– To set up Metro coach factory at Singur, West Bengal.
– First coach from Rae Bareli factory to roll out in next three months.
– Work on wagon factory in Orissa to begin after land is acquired.
– Manipur capital Imphal to be soon connected to railway network.
– Centre for excellence in software to be set up at Darjeeling.
– Fund to be created for socially desirable projects.
– Central Organistaion for Project Implemtaiton created; will create accountability for non-performance.
– Work started on two dedicated freight corridors.
– Work on upgrading 442 stations to be completed by March 31.
– Decision to start pilot projects to give shelter to homeless people living along the tracks in Mumbai.
– Multi-purpose smart card to be introduced for all-India travel.
– Airport-like trolleys to be provided at more stations.
– Railways to set up a sports cadre.
– Upgraded class of air conditioned travel to be introduced shortly.
– To adopt modern technology through centres of academic excellence.
– Train to run to Bangladesh to showcase Indian culture.
– Age for senior citizen’s concession reduced to 58 from 60.
– Concession for physically handicapped and gallantry award winners for travel in Rajdhani and Shatabdi expresses.
– 50 percent concession for mediapersons with families to be increased from once to twice a year.
Read More: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
