CHENNAI: The upcoming Railway Budget to be presented in the parliament on 26 February by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will be inspired by Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission, Make in India initiative and hi-end technology.
SWACHH BHARAT
With 'Swachh Bharat' expected to be the keyword in the Railway Budget, Prabhu may announce major steps to improve cleaning efforts comprising installation of bio-toilets in trains and stations, provisioning dustbins across all types of coaches. Currently, non-AC coaches do not have dustbins in them.
NGOs and other voluntary organizations will be involved for the improvement of passenger facilities at stations. Services like On Board Housekeeping are likely to be extended to more trains.
TECHNOLOGY
Introduction of Wi-Fi services on station premises might be introduced as another major highlight of the budget this year. While New Delhi station has already been enabled with Wi-Fi, Prabhu is keen on extending the facility to every other major station.
The Minister may also propose Radio-Frequency Identification for tracking and tracing of wagons, coaches and locomotives as the Railways looks to introduce information technology on a major scale to improve services.
The use of Radio-Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) will make it easier for Railways to track exact position of coaches, wagons and fuel position. Currently, such information are being maintained manually and are vulnerable to inaccuracies.
RFID will also be used for freight maintenance management, locomotive management, coach maintenance management and fuel management systems to ensure more effective and transparent functioning of the public transportation system.
FARE REVISION UNLIKELY
Although, the Rail Ministry has several plans for the fiscal year 2015-2016 to improvise the condition of Railways, there seem to be no relief for the passengers this year. A few days ahead of the commencement of Budget Session, Prabhu had some time back said that reduction in passenger fares is unlikely to happen although diesel prices have come down.
"Railway recovers only 50 per cent of the passenger cost it bears. There is already a huge element of subsidy provided to passengers in the fares. Railway services will have to be modernised to meet people's expectations and the network needs to be expanded. There is a huge demand-supply gap and finance is major constraint. The point is how to raise resources,” he had said earlier.
NORTH-EAST TO GET MAJOR BOOST
The North-East is also expected to get priority in the upcoming budget as an announcement for introduction of local services to improve connectivity in the region is on the anvil.
PASSENGERS SAFETY
The Railway Budget might explore the possibilities of Information Technology (IT) to enhance the security of railway passengers and to curb growing incidents of crimes against women commuters.
Prabhu is likely to announce installation of CCTV cameras in ladies' coaches of all express and mail trains and development of an app for improving the security of women passengers. Recruitment of women constables in Railway Protection Force (RPF) is likely to be another proposal by Prabhu, aimed at strengthening security for women passengers.
Along with proposals to ensure women safety, the Railway Minister will introduce a Bill to amend an existing law to give power to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in order to strengthen security measures. Ahead of the amendment, RPF will be able to register FIR against crimes taking place within rail vicity.
FUND RAISING FOR PENDING PROJECTS
Proposals for innovative funding for infrastructure projects are also on the anvil. The cash-strapped Railways has a challenge of completing more than 300 pending projects requiring an investment of around 1.7 lakh crore.
The Minister has asked the State Governments to set up special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to arrange funds for completion of various ongoing and pending railway projects. SPVs will be formed with equity participation from the Railways and the State Governments concerned.
MODI’S VISION ‘DIAMOND QUADRILATERAL’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious plan of Diamond Quadrilateral – connecting metros with high speed trains – would also be tabled at the Rail Budget session. China and Japan have already offered their expertise in this sector. To run semi-high speed trains on several corridors, the budget is likely to propose indigenously built coaches or trains that can run upto 200 km per hour speed. All the proposals are expected to be in tune with government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.