Railway Budget 2016

Dear Friends;
The last seven days was magnificent for India as #RailBudget2016 and #Union Budget are presented by Shri Suresh Prabhu and Shri Arun Jaitley respectively.

Here I am trying to narrate the two budgets as I taken to them

“Union Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu presented Railway Budget 2016”

Overviews:

Union Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu presented Railway Budget 2016 on 25^th February 2016 and said the aim of Rail Budget is 'yatri ki garima' (passengers pride), 'rail ki gati' (speed of railways) and 'desh ki pragati' (country's progress).

He added a budget that reflects the aspirations of the common citizens of India. This is a budget that has been fashioned by a creative partnership: with ideas from my colleagues in Parliament, industry associations, commuter associations and practically all sections of the society. I would like to thank each one of you.

                        

The Railway Minister said three pillars of the strategy: Nav Arjan (New Revenues), Nav Manak (New Norms) and Nav Sanrachna (New Structures) have been laid out to reflect the new thought process.

Presenting his second Budget in the Lok Sabha Shri Suresh Prabhu announced three new superfast trains include 'Humsafar' which will be a fully air-conditioned 3AC service with option of meals. 'Tejas' which will showcase the future of train travel in India with speeds up to 130 kmph with on board services such as entertainment, local cuisine and Wi-Fi. 'Uday' which will be an overnight double-decker along with 'Utkrishit' double-decker air-conditioned yatri express on the busiest routes.

He introduced 'Antyodya' express for improving quality of travel for unreserved passenger and Deen Dayalu' unreserved coaches with portable water and higher number of mobile charging points.

Outlining the Budget estimates for the coming year, the Minister put the plan size at Rs 1.21 lakh crore.

Shri Suresh Prabhu said that core objective of Rail Budget 2016 is to become an engine of employment generation and economic growth at national level.

He mentioned the following noteworthy measures.

On achievements

Punctuality increased to almost 95%

Increased average speed of freight trains to 50 kmph and Mail/ Express trains to 80 kmph.

LIC has agreed to invest Rs.1.5 lakh crore.

Commissioning 2,500 km Broad Gauge lines

On Interaction and feedback

Have turned ‪social media into feedback & complaint platform

Dedicated IVRS system to seek direct feedback from passengers

On making travel comfortable

Have received assistance through funds from MPLAD and CSR

Installed 2,500 water vending machines at stations

Mobile charging points in general class

Enabled online booking of rest rooms

New train between Varanasi & Delhi

Mahamana Express with modern refurbished coaches

17000 bio-toilets in trains

On Ticketing

Introduced 1780 automatic ticket vending machines

Enhanced capacity of E-ticketing system from 2000 tickets

Introduced Mobile based apps, GoIndia smart card scheme for cashless purchase of UTS and PRS tickets

Wi-Fi services at 100 stations this year.

Online booking of wheelchairs for Divyang

On Security

All India, 24/7 helpline number 182

CCTV surveillance provided at 311 stations

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said we look forward to meeting the long-felt desires of the common man by 2020.

*This is just the detailed summery of the Budgets and how I collected those