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Highlights
of Railway Budget 2009-10
Union Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee presented the Railway Budget for 2009-10 in Parliament on Friday, 3rd
June 2009. Railway minister Mamata Banerjee unveiled a mix of
populist measures, including cheap tickets for the poor and no
increase in freight or passenger fares, as well as steps to boost
the sprawling system's efficiency and finances.
Following are the highlights of the Railway Budget:
*
Passenger and freight rates across board left unchanged.
* Net revenue of Railways at Rs 8,121 crores in 2008-09.
* To pay higher dividend Rs 5,479 crores to Centre in FY'10.
* Tatkal charges reduced from Rs 150 to Rs 100.
* Ladies' specials in suburban trains during peak hours
* 'Izzat' monthly ticket of Rs 25 for up to 100 km travel.
* New coach factory at Kanchrapara in West Bengal.
* Cold storages for farmers to store vegetables and fruits.
* Talks to take over ailing wagon manufacturing units.
* 18,000 wagons to be acquired during the current year.
* Railway medical colleges along with rail hospitals on PPP.
* Student concession will cover Madrasa students.
* Special coaches for disabled and aged persons.
* 375 stations to be upgraded as 'Adarsh' with basic facilities -
drinking water, toilets, ladies' dormitories.
* On-board availability of doctors in long distance trains.
* On-board infotainment services to be provided.
* 6,560 staff quarters to be constructed in 2009-10.
* High-capacity A/C double-decker trains to be introduced.
* 57 new trains to be introduced.
* 12 non-stop trains to be introduced.
* Accredited journalists to get 50 per cent rebate; also once a year
with spouse.
* Proposes 1,000 MW power plant at Adra, a tribal area.
* Cash surplus of Rs 17,400 crores before dividend.
* Railways has investible surplus of Rs 12,681 crores.
* Annual plan expenditure pegged at Rs 36,336 crores.
• 50 Railway stations, including CST Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Howrah,
Sealdah, Varanasi, New Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kanpur, Chennai
Central, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Secunderabad, Bangalore,
Byappanahalli, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Habibganj, Agra Central,
Chandigarh, Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, Puri and Kochi, will be
developed to have world-class facilities. |
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