Indian Railway Budget 2015-16 Highlights  News by Union Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu

Railway budget for the year 2015-16 is presented by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Parliament on 26 February 2015 in Delhi. This is the first union railway budget presented by Modi Government.

The people were expecting some new trains’ announcements but Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu did not declare a single new train. Many businessmen related to railway have appreciated the railway budget 2015-16.

Suresh Prabhu in his first Rail Budget announced a record investment plan of over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2015-16 while sparing the passengers of a fare hike and also proposed a number of steps to increase passenger amenities.

Here are some highlights of the railway budget 2015-16.

Railway Budget 2015-16 :

No increase in passenger fares

No new trains announced

Tickets can be booked 120 days (4 months) in advance instead of 60 days to tackle venderthreat

Expense for passenger amenities increased by 67%likely at 41 per cent (Rs.45100 Cr) in 2015-16

The speed passenger trains across nine corridors will be increased to 160-200 km from 110 km

SMS alert to be introduced for train timings

Introduction to air-conditioned coaches for suburban trains

400 railway stations will have Wi-Fi available 

To renovate station redevelopment policy completely

Transport Logistic Corporation of India to be set up to aid expanding cargo handling capacity and provide end-to-end logistic solutions

6608 Kms of track to be electrified

Projects worth Rs 96,182 crore to expand capacity of 9,420 km rail lines

CCTVs to be introduced in select trains and suburban trains for women safety

To have bidding system for redevelopment of stations

To develop 10 satellite railway stations this year

800 km of gauge conversion will be commissioned

E-catering introduced in 108 trains, can order on IRCTC website

To expand water vending machines on more stations

On-board entertainment facility could be extended on Shatabdi trains

Mobile charging stations will be introduced general class coaches

More general class coaches will be added to select trains for benefit of the common man

Railways plans to spend over Rs 8 lakh crore over five years

Pension funds, multi-lateral banks have evinced interest in Railways

Proposed the best operating ratio in nine years, of 88.5 per cent for 2015-16

Railways to go through transformation in five years; to increase track capacity by 10 per cent to 1.38 lakh kilometres

Feasibility report for high speed train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad expected by mid-2015

Wagon-making scheme to be reviewed to make it easier for private investment

To improve cleanliness & design of bed linen

All India 24x7 complaints helpline number 138 to start soon

7,000 more toilets to be replaced by Bio-Toilets, New toilets at 650 stations, more vacuum toilets

Passenger travelling unreserved can get a ticket within 5 minutes

Mobile application to address complaints of people is also being developed

Introduction of integrated ticketing will be done

Hand-held devices for ticket checkers for moving towards paperless ticketing

Centrally managed railway display network in over 2000 stations in next 2 years

Railways will play a big role in socio-economic development of India

Railways facilities have not improved significantly over last few years

Railways has to regain in share in cargo traffic

Railways aims to deliver a sustainable improvement in customer experience and make rail a safer means of travel

Rail-cum-road ticket to be extended to many stations

Train Protection Warning System, Train Collision Avoidance System

Projects for rail connectivity to many ports and mines

To monetize assets rather than sell them

To set up full-fledged Railway University in FY16

Rs.2000 crore for Coastal Connectivity Program; Rs.2500 crore through BOT/Annuity route

Drawing up comprehensive policy to tap latent advertising potential

Online application for all recruitment process

917 safety work projects to eliminate over 3,000 unmanned crossings in all states

PPP cell to be revamped to make it result oriented

Railway budget 2015-16 is not having passenger fare hike which is one key point, but after a very long time there is not a single train is declared in the union railway budget.

So what do you think about railway budget 2015-16??

Are you satisfied with first railway budget by Suresh Prabhu???