|
|
Speech of Shri Nitish Kumar introducing
the Railway Budget, 2002-2003 on 26th February
2002
Mr. Speaker
Sir,
I rise to present the
Budget Estimates for 2002-2003 for the Indian
Railways.
Introduction
-
The year 2002-2003
will mark the 150th year of Railways’ dedicated
and glorious service to the nation. In these years, the
organisation has grown from a mere 32 km to a vast network of more
than 62 thousand route kilometres. In its long years of service to
the nation, the organisation has, at various times, faced difficult
and different challenges, but with the help of its built-in
resilience, overcome all of them. At all times, during peace and
war, droughts and flood, national calamities or peak time
requirements, Railways and Railwaymen have never been found
wanting. We will be celebrating the 150th year of the
Indian Railways in a befitting manner and also use the opportunity
to boost tourism, especially by rail.
-
To meet the
requirements of its users, be it freight or passenger or other
subsidiary services, Railways have, at different times, instituted
many policy changes and have carried out capacity expansion and
modernisation works and are fully geared to meet the transportation
challenges ahead.
-
Winds of change are
blowing across the country’s economic scenario and Indian
Railway being the backbone of Indian economy, also needs to change
to meet the current economic challenges. We are addressing
ourselves to this need and have initiated a number of steps in this
direction. This process will continue in the current year and in
the subsequent years of the X Plan. However, we have to be cautious
and cannot follow an extreme path. We have to learn from the
experience of other countries both from their failures as well as
their successes. We have to take a course which would mean changes
in the crucial areas while maintaining
continuity.
-
In this Budget,
therefore, I will not merely address the next fiscal but would also
attempt to provide a route map for the Indian Railways. The focus
will, therefore, be on policy initiatives, directed towards our
long-term objectives. A Status Paper was presented to this House in
May, 1998, outlining the issues facing the Indian Railways. Taking
note of the changing scenario this is being updated, and will be
presented to the Parliament in the current
session.
-
Transportation
throughput has increased from 73.2 million tonnes in the year
1950-1951 to approx. 489 MT in the 2001-2002. Passenger kilometres
have increased from 66,517 million in the year 1950-1951 to 473,461
million in 2001-2002. As against this, the increase in the number
of route km of railway line has lagged behind, increasing by only
9,432 km during the last 50 years. It will be my effort to give a
thrust to expansion of the network during the X Five Year Plan
period. In this endeavour, I am confident that I will get the
whole-hearted support of the House.
-
In addition to the
capacity augmentation that has already taken place in the form of
doubling of the intensively used corridors and technological
upgradation in traction and signaling, we propose to target
addition of broad-gauge lines by way of new lines, gauge conversion
or by doubling to the extent of 5,000 km during the X Five year
Plan. We also propose to give a thrust to strengthening of the
golden quadrilateral and diagonals connecting the four
metros.
-
We are seeking the
active cooperation and participation of several non-Railway
agencies in this effort. This includes entering into funding
arrangements with the State Governments, other Ministries and
private parties.
-
Financial Performance
in 2000-2001
-
Now, I will go on to a
brief review of the financial performance of the year 2000-2001 and
also of the current year.
-
The freight loading
achieved in the year 2000-2001 was 473.50 million tonnes, which was
fairly close to the budgeted target of 475 million tonnes, the
minor shortfall being on account of a slow down in the economy
having set in the last quarter of the financial year. However, on
account of lower lead of traffic of certain commodity groups, the
freight earnings fell short of the Budget Estimates by Rs 303 cr.
On the other hand, the passenger segment did well, resulting in
Passenger Earnings exceeding the budget estimates by Rs 367 cr. The
Sundry Other Earnings, however, fell short of the target by Rs 714
cr mainly due to non-materialisation of non-traditional source of
earning from ‘Leasing of Right of Way of Optical Fibre
Network’. As a result, the overall earnings fell short by Rs
742 cr and with an accretion of Rs 407 cr to the Railways’
dues in traffic suspense, instead of a budgeted clearance of Rs 500
cr, the Gross Traffic Receipts of the Railways fell short of the
Budget Estimates by Rs 1,649 cr.
-
With continuing endeavour to
contain revenue expenditure, the Railways were able to reduce the
Ordinary Working Expenses by Rs 581 cr from the Budget Estimates of
Rs 28,115 cr, even after absorbing various post-budgetary factors.
However, the overall shortfall in internal generation of resources
resulted in the budgeted plan expenditure of Rs 11,000 cr being
reduced to Rs 9,395 cr. The net revenue of Railways was found
sufficient to pay dividend only to the extent of Rs 308 cr against
Rs 615 cr budgeted, after deferment of Rs 1,500 cr.
-
Review of Financial
Performance in 2001-2002
-
In anticipation of a
revival in the economy, Railways set an optimistic target of 500
million tonnes of revenue earnings freight traffic for 2001-2002
i.e. a growth rate of 5.65%. However, due to continued economic
slow down, the freight traffic remained stagnant for first 5 months
of the financial year, but with resurgence thereafter and
Railways’ marketing efforts, we now hope to carry 489 million
tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic by end of the year. As a
result of this shortfall, estimates of goods earnings have been
revised downwards from Rs 25,235 cr to Rs 24,610 cr. Passenger
earnings are showing a steady progress and, therefore, have been
kept at Rs 11,400 cr i.e. marginally higher than the Budget
Estimates of Rs 11,387 cr. The Other Coaching Earnings have also
been increased by Rs 10 cr in the Revised Estimates. The expected
revenue from non-traditional source of ‘Leasing of Right of
Way for Optic Fibre Cable Network’, will not materialise and
Sundry Other Earnings have, therefore, been reduced from Rs 1,717
cr of Budget Estimates to Rs 900 cr in the Revised Estimates.
Taking into account the continuing increase in unrealised earnings
of the Railways, the budgeted Gross Traffic Receipts of Rs 39,939
cr has reduced to Rs 37,720 cr in the Revised
Estimates.
-
As a result of the
vigorous efforts made by the Railways to control expenditure, it is
estimated that there would be a saving of Rs 1,090 cr in the
Ordinary Working Expenses in the current year. Accordingly, these
have been kept at Rs 29,100 cr in the Revised Estimates as against
Rs 30,190 cr of Budget Estimates. However, despite this, the
internal generation of resources is likely to fall short of the
budgeted target by Rs 888 cr, on account of the shortfall in
receipts.
-
The Government has
also extended an additional budgetary support of Rs 898 cr during
the current year for accelerated progress of certain selected
projects. The budgeted investment in BOLT and Own Your Wagon
Schemes is, however, unlikely to materialise during the year.
Taking this into consideration, the annual plan investment for the
year comes to Rs 9,457 cr, compared to Rs 11,090 cr in the Budget
Estimates. Taking into account the additional amount of Rs 1,400 cr
approved by Parliament towards the Special Railway Safety Fund, the
total plan expenditure works out to Rs 10,857
cr.
Safety
- Sir, safety has been a matter of concern to each and every
member of this House, and Railways consider this a subject of
paramount importance. The tragic accident on the Kadalundi Bridge
in June 2001 has brought this issue into even greater focus. The
Railway Safety Review Committee headed by Justice H.R.Khanna in its
report had recommended that over-aged safety related assets of
Indian Railways needed to be replaced or renewed speedily. The
requirement of funds for these replacements was assessed at Rs
15,000 cr.
- This year, with the directions of our Hon'ble Prime
Minister and the support of the Hon'ble Finance Minister, a Special
Railway Safety Fund of Rs 17,000 cr has been set up including due
allowance for inflation, for clearing the backlog of replacement of
over-aged assets over the next six years. This Fund is being
credited by budgetary support of Rs 12,000 cr over a six year
period and the balance Rs 5,000 cr is being raised by the Railways
through a safety surcharge levied on passengers with effect from
the 1st October 2001. The safety related works expected
to be executed through this Fund include the renewal of nearly
17,000 km of track, rebuilding of over 3000 bridges, replacement of
signaling gears at almost 950 stations, replacement of rolling
stock and investment in safety enhancement aids.
- The work has already started. Members would recall that,
in the last winter session, a supplementary demand for Rs 1,400 cr,
for expenditure out of this Fund for the current year, was approved
by this House. The supplementary demand was accompanied by a
supplementary list of works (Green Book) listing the works to be
taken up.
- I have discussed the issue of safety with the staff
federations, who are also taking initiative for conducting safety
awareness drive among employees.
- The Konkan Railway Corporation has developed an Anti
collision Device named as "Raksha Kavach" based on satellite-based
Global Positioning System (GPS), which was dedicated to the nation
on the 15th Oct. 2001. It is designed to prevent
collisions between trains. On successful completion of the extended
trials that have been commissioned, these would be introduced on
the whole system. It is expected that this measure will contribute
significantly towards increasing safety in trains
operations.
- Indian Railways and Bhilai Steel Plant of Steel Authority
of India Limited are also planning together to produce longer rails
i.e. 26 metre and 65 or 78 metre, instead of the conventional 13
metre length to reduce number of welds in the
track.
- To improve the crash worthiness of coaches, as an
immediate measure, coach interiors are being re-designed with
improved fittings and features, which would not cause injury.
Production of such improved coaches will commence during the year
2002-2003. Simultaneously, the coach body will be re-designed to
absorb more impact so as to keep passenger carrying areas
intact
Security
- Across the length and breadth of the country the Railway
track is a visible symbol of the Government. Being a state owned
asset it becomes a ready target for any terrorist, agitationist or
extremist, desirous of making his presence felt. As far as
maintenance of law & order and control of crime in Railway
premises including running trains and track network is concerned,
it is the responsibility of the State Governments. In view of
countrywide concern regarding Railway security, a proposal for
amending the RPF Act and Railway Act to empower the RPF is under
consideration so that in case of need they could also play a role
in providing security to passengers on running trains and station
premises. The attempt also is to maintain better liaison and
coordination with State police authorities.
- Policy Initiatives taken during the
year
- In our continuing effort to make the Railways serve the
interests of the country better, we have been working to take
measures for increasing efficiency, reducing expenditure,
attracting capital for much needed investment in infrastructure and
for increasing our revenue. It would be relevant to mention some of
the initiatives taken in these directions.
- More autonomy has been given to the zonal railways by
delegating enhanced financial powers to the General Managers for
acceptance of tenders. Simultaneously, procurement of 45 items out
of 60 that were being earlier procured centrally by the Ministry
has been decentralised. This would ensure that General Managers
would be able to decide locally and quickly on procurement and
other tenders, which will improve efficiency.
- Port connectivity, especially for the new ports is being
provided either by the port authorities themselves or by cost
sharing between the Railways and the port authorities. The rail
connectivity for the Adani and Pipavav Ports in Gujarat are
examples of this cooperation.
- Cost sharing for suburban systems in Mumbai, Chennai,
Kolkatta and Hyderabad is already being done between the Railways
and the State Governments. I am happy to inform the House that
under the aegis of K-Ride and in pursuance of the MOU signed
earlier, SPVs are being formed for expediting completion of
identified projects in Karnataka. An MOU has also been signed with
Government of Jharkhand only this month in which the Government of
Jharkhand has agreed to bear 2/3rd of the share in the
cost of projects in that State for their expeditious completion and
we are also going to sign a similar agreement with the Government
of Karnataka for time bound completion of some projects identified
by them.
- We have recently entered into an MOU with the National
Thermal Power Corporation to explore the possibility of setting up
captive thermal power plants for the Railways to reduce expenditure
on the electric energy bill.
- Initiatives towards Improving Share in Freight
Traffic
- With a view to provide an integrated freight booking and
handling facility to customers, a policy to encourage management of
freight rail terminals by private entrepreneurs has been
formulated. A pilot project at Garhiharsaru near Gurgaon where a
private terminal has been set up is being
operationalised.
- In order to provide value addition in rail transport
service to the customers and to reduce their overall logistics
cost, it has been decided to encourage setting up of warehousing
facilities near rail terminals by State owned Corporations and
private parties. A pilot scheme is being undertaken at Whitefield
in Bangalore.
- Parcel
- I am happy to announce that that the Railways intend to
introduce high speed refrigerated parcel vans to move perishables
such as fruits and vegetables across the country to help farmers
get better prices for their produce.
- Projects
- Sir, as I have mentioned earlier a major focus for the
Railways will be the augmentation of capacity on the saturated
golden quadrilateral and its diagonals, which will require doubling
of the single line patches, third and fourth line in some
stretches, electrification of un-electrified areas and grade
separation of busy level crossings and up-gradation of track and
wagons for running freight trains at 100 Kmph. A comprehensive
project for this purpose is being formulated with a view to explore
other sources of funding.
- As the House is fully aware, the Railways have a large
shelf of on going projects under the Plan head New Lines and Gauge
Conversion. While the availability of resources is limited, the
aspirations of the people, which is also reflected in the requests
made by Hon’ble Members of Parliament and State Governments,
calls for expediting the progress of these
projects.
- Hon’ble members have frequently complained that the
allocation of funds for railway projects to different states is not
equitable. To meet this perceived sense of injustice, I have
decided to allot funds for the planheads New Lines, Doubling, Gauge
Conversion, Electrification etc. for projects in different states
based on a clear and transparent formula, so that the available
resources are distributed in a manner which can be considered fair
and just. For this purpose, I have considered 3 major criteria viz,
the area of the state, the population and the throwforward of
projects in states. Weightage given to these 3 criteria is in the
ratio 15%, 15% and 70% respectively. Based on this, the percentage
share of the ‘available funds’ to different states has
been calculated.
- The ‘available funds’ for this allotment is
calculated as follows. Of the budgetary support available for
capital expenditure, approximately 70% is kept for projects. From
this 70%, allocation is first made for works in the North East
States, which has to be 10% of the total, funds required for MTP
projects, mega bridges and Railway’s share of projects in
which States have contributed a 2/3rd share as being
given by the State of Jharkhand. The balance constitutes the
‘available funds’ which has been distributed to
different states on the basis of the formula worked
out.
- Sir, the House will agree that allotment of projects funds
has, therefore, been made in a transparent and fair manner and
there will no longer be a perceived sense of inequity and
adhocism.
- Sir, construction of mega bridges also has to be given
priority as they provide strategic linkages and also where work
needs to progress steadily once started. The work of Ganga Bridge
at Patna has commenced. The House will be happy to note that
commencement of work on the Bogibeel bridge over the mighty
Brahmaputra will take place during the ensuing Bihu celebrations.
We also propose to explore the possibility of other sources of
funding for such mega bridges.
- It was announced in July, 1996 that
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla project would be a National Project to
be funded from outside the Railway’s plan. However, the
required funding had not materialised. I express my gratitude to
the Hon’ble Prime Minister while informing the House that the
Government has recently decided that Udhampur-Katra and
Qazigund-Baramulla sections of the project should be completed in a
time span of three years and the funds required are to be provided
as an additionality. An amount of Rs 300 cr has been proposed for
this work during 2002-2003.
- There are two projects that are being undertaken on
strategic considerations, namely, a new line between Kolayat &
Phalodi and onging gauge conversion from Luni to Munabao. In view
of the fact that these works are being undertaken on strategic
considerations, it has been decided that the Ministry of Defence
would provide the necessary funds to the Ministry of Railways for
their early completion. In the current year, Rs 25 cr have been
provided and in the year 2002-2003 it would be Rs 130 cr. These
projects will be completed in a specified time
frame.
- In previous budgets, a number of works had been included
without obtaining requisite clearances, with the proviso that the
work would be taken up after the clearances were received. However,
such a procedure has met with criticism. I would like to inform the
Hon’ble Members that in pursuance to a decision taken by
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, no new projects would be
included in the Budget without requisite clearances being
available.
- New Lines
- Sir, I am happy to state that with the completion of
Dharmavaram-Puttaparthi section, the new line project from
Dharmavaram to Penukonda has been completed. The other sections
which will get completed before March, 2002 are :
- Dewas-Maksi of Godhra-Indore & Dewas-Maksi
project.
- Gajol-Buniadpur of Eklakhi-Belurghat
project.
- In 2002-2003, Railways propose to complete 214 km of new
line which also include following sections :-
- Buniadpur-Balurghat to complete the Eklakhi-Balurghat new
line
- Joruli-Keonjhar of Daitari-Banspani
- Kumarghat-Manu of Kumarghat-Agartala
- Katra-Faizabad
- Daurandha-Maharajganj restoration
- Bajkul-Kanthi of Tamluk-Digha
Gauge
Conversion
- During the current year, the gauge conversion of
Amguri-Tuli, Makum-Dangri and Wankaner-Morbi sections has already
been completed. The work of new line from Penkakallu-Gooty as part
of Guntur-Guntakal gauge conversion project and Lakshmanthirtha
Bridge as part of Mysore-Hassan project has also been completed.
The remaining two sections i.e. Soni-Bhind and Dhrangadhra-Kuda are
also targeted to be completed in this financial
year.
- I am happy to inform the House that with the availability
of additional resources, traffic block for gauge conversion for
Mudkhed-Nizambabad has already been taken and Mudkhed-Dharmabad
gauge conversion will be completed by March, 2002 and
Dharmabad-Nizamabad by June, 2002. The Bolaram-Secunderabad section
of this project will also be converted in the next few months. The
gauge conversion of Luni-Samdari-Jasai will also be completed
during 2002-2003.
- During the year 2002-2003, the following sections are
further planned for completion :-
- Latur-Latur Road new line of Miraj-Latur gauge conversion
project
- Vadalur-Vriddhachalam of
Salem-Cuddalore
- Katpadi-Pakala-Tirupati
- Surendranagar-Pipavav
- Rajkot-Jetalsar of Rajkot-Veraval
Doubling
- During the current year about 150 km of doubling would be
completed, while in the next financial year a target of 250 km has
been proposed.
- Hon’ble members will be happy to know that doubling
of Solapur-Pakni, Cheoki-Lohgara of Manikpur-Cheoki,
Ahmedpur-Sainthia, Gaya-Chakand, Kanpur-Chandari, Seemapur-Katihar,
Kumarganj-Eklakhi and Sambalpur-Rengali sections have been included
in this budget. This will ease the traffic flow and create
additional capacity on some of the saturated
sections.
- Railway Electrification
- I am pleased to inform the house that Railway
Electrification works have progressed satisfactorily during the
year. The important sections, which have been energized, include
Bhubaneshwar-Kottavalasa (on Chennai-Kolkata route).
Electrification of Sitarampur-Mughalsarai section of the
Howrah-Delhi mainline has also been completed. The railways had set
an ambitious target of electrification of 2300 route kms during the
9th Plan period. I am happy to inform the House that
this target will not only be met but also surpassed. This has been
made possible due to additional allocation for the last mile
projects during the current financial year.
- It gives me satisfaction to report that 3-phase technology
EMU rakes capable of working both on DC & AC traction have been
introduced on the Churchgate-Virar section of Western Railway.
Apart from higher speed potential and faster service, these EMUs
will also result in 30% energy saving. This will also facilitate
meeting the increased demand for suburban traffic in
Mumbai.
- Suburban Transport Projects
- Sir, I am glad to inform the House that the work on the
balance portion of 5th line from Andheri to Borivili is
expected to be completed by the end of March. With this the fifth
line from Santa Cruz to Borivili would stand completed. Work of
automatic signaling from Virar – Dahanu Road is also
progressing well and is expected to be commissioned by March 2002,
thereby increasing the line capacity of this
section.
- Hon’ble Members would be glad to know that
electrification of Circular Railway in Calcutta which was earlier
completed from Dum Dum to Talla has since been extended up to
Princepghat. The work of electrification of Ranaghat –
Bongaon has also been completed. Electrification of Barasat –
Hasnabad section is expected to be commissioned in the next
financial year.
- Hon’ble Members are aware that Ministry of Railways
had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Government of Andhra
Pradesh for strengthening the existing rail infrastructure for
running of commuter services in the city of Hyderabad. Work on
phase I of the project for upgradation of railway infrastructure in
Secunderabad – Falaknuma and Secunderabad -Hyderabad –
Lingampalli section has been taken in hand.
- RDSO
- The Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO),
the pioneering R&D wing of the Indian Railways has been in the
forefront in developing and adopting new technologies to enhance
the reliability of assets and safety in train operations. Some of
the important achievements of RDSO during the year 2001-2002 are
development of higher axle load wagons to increase throughput,
design and development of a state-of-the-art 2300 H.P. Diesel
Electrical Locomotive for export, development of fiber reinforced
plastic sleepers for girder bridges, development of coaching
container flats for handling parcel traffic, development of train
actuated warning system at level crossings, etc. To give a thrust
to research and development efforts, restructuring of this
organisation is being carried out and will be completed during
2002-2003. It has also been decided to provide a world class test
track, for carrying out R&D activities, at a cost of Rs 87
cr.
Public Sector Undertakings
- Hon’ble Members will be happy to know that the
performance of the Public Sector Undertakings has been satisfactory
during the year 2000-2001. In 2000-2001, IRCON International Ltd.
had a turnover of Rs 811 cr and earned a net profit of Rs 66 cr. It
paid a dividend of Rs 14.85 cr. Rail India Technical & Economic
Services (RITES) achieved the highest ever turnover of Rs 181 cr
during the year 2000-2001, recording a net profit of Rs 15 cr and
paid a dividend of Rs 2 cr. I am glad to inform the House that
RITES has been given the status of mini-Ratna this month. Container
Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) had a turnover of Rs 1,075 cr,
earning a profit of Rs 217 cr and paid Rs 43.54 cr as dividend. Its
turnover increased by 29 % in 2000-2001 as compared to the previous
year and the dividend increased by 33%. Indian Railway Finance
Corporation (IRFC) earned a net profit of Rs 238 cr. It mobilised a
total of Rs 2,950 cr from market in 2000-2001 to supplement the
plan resources of Indian Railways. It paid a dividend of Rs 64.96
cr. All these four PSUs have been graded as "Excellent" in their
performance.
- Konkan Railway Corporation
- I am glad to inform the House that the Konkan Railway
Corporation has consistently been improving its performance. In the
last two years the growth in traffic has been of the order of 25%
every year. As Hon’ble members are aware, about 70% of the
capital cost of the Konkan Railway has been met through market
borrowings resulting, in recent years, in heavy fund requirement
for debt servicing and redemption. The Railways have been giving
continued financial support to this organization. The support
extended by the Railways till date is Rs 1,398 cr, of which Rs 744
cr was paid in the year 2001-2002 alone.
- Medical Facilities
- Indian Railways have been providing comprehensive health
care to railwaymen and their families as a vital input in human
resource development. Prevention of communicable and non
communicable diseases, monitoring of drinking water quality,
monitoring of food quality supplied to Railway passengers,
improvement of environmental sanitation and imparting health
education are some of the salient components of the
services.
- As result of careful planning and implementation and due
to dedicated efforts of the staff, the health care indices of
Railway population now are a matter of satisfaction and are
comparable to the best available in the country.
- RRB
- Continuing in my efforts to bring about transparency in
the recruitment process, recruitment of more categories of staff is
being brought under the purview of Railway Recruitment Boards.
Accordingly, RPF constables and certain other RPF categories like
Sub-Inspector and Inspector and all categories of Group
‘D’ staff will be recruited through the
RRBs.
- Sports
- Sir, I am happy to inform the House that the performance
of Indian Railways during the year 2001-2002 has been excellent,
and Railway sportspersons have continued to win both at the
national and international level. During the year eight sports
persons from Railways have been honoured with Arjuna Award, which
is an all time record.
- The Hon’ble Members would recall that, during the
discussions on the Supplementary Demands for Grants placed before
the House in the Winter Session, 2001 I had mentioned that we will
be taking suggestions from Members of Parliament who are associated
with and taking keen interest in sports activities. This meeting
was held in the month of January, 2002 and I am glad to inform the
House that the annual sports budget is being doubled. The sports
quota on recruitment in Group C & D has also been increased
from the existing 649 to 1200. Members would also be glad to note
that the cash award to be given to various awardees of Arjuna,
Dronacharya and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards has been
doubled.
- Industrial Relations
- Indian Railways have continuous dialogue with our staff
federations through the Permanent Negotiating Machinery (PNM).
There is a regular dialogue with officers as well as staff
federations through the forum ‘Participation of Railway
Employees in Management’ (PREM). We have been getting full
cooperation and participation of these federations in the measures
being identified for cutting costs and for increasing productivity
in various areas of our operations, including right-sizing of the
staff strength.
- Passenger Amenities Year
- Sir, to celebrate the 150th year of Railway
services, I have great pleasure in dedicating the coming year to
the Rail traveler and declaring it the Passenger Amenities Year. To
commemorate the historic and momentous date i.e., 16th
April 1853, when the first train steamed out of Boribunder for
Thane, we are introducing sixteen inter-city train services to be
called as Jan Shatabdi Express trains. These trains will have most
of the characteristics of the current Shatabdi Express trains and
will also have specially designed second class chair car
accommodation. These trains will, therefore, be accessible to a
much wider spectrum of travelling public true to its name of Jan
Shatabdi. The 16 pairs of services proposed to be introduced in
various parts of the country are as follows:
- Madgaon-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak
Terminus)
- Guwahati-Dimapur
- Raigarh-Raipur -Durg
- Ahmedabad-Bhuj
- Tatanagar-Ranchi
- Bangalore-Hubli
- Ernakulam-Trivandrum
- Kota-Nizamuddin
- Bhubaneswar- Howrah
- Dehradun-New Delhi
- Howrah-Malda Town
- Varanasi-Lucknow
- Chandigarh-New Delhi
- Chennai Central-Vijayawada via Gudur
- Habibganj-Jabalpur
- Katihar-Patna
- Before I come to the other new trains, increase in
frequency and extension of existing services, I would like to
inform the House about some of the initiatives taken by us to
improve passenger amenities.
- Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS)
- We carry about 13 million passengers per day of which 12
million are unreserved passengers. It gives me great pleasure to
announce that in the 150th Year of Indian Railways we
will be developing computer based Unreserved Ticketing System. With
this system, unreserved tickets can be issued even from locations
other than the boarding station. The system will also be able to
issue MST and QST, as also have the flexibility of issuing tickets
from anywhere to anywhere even for a journey on a future date. For
this purpose a pilot project is being launched during the
year.
- Passenger Reservation System Policy
- To facilitate the journey of rail users, it has been the
endeavour of the Indian Railways to provide PRS centres at maximum
number of locations. I have decided to provide PRS centres at
stations where the reservation related workload is over 100
transactions per day, apart from important stations and at all
District Headquarters.
- In the current year, PRS terminals have been provided at
90 locations taking the total tally of PRS locations to over 700 by
the end of the year. With the implementation of the above policy,
in the year 2002-2003, 150 more terminals would be added across the
country to commemorate the 150th year of the Indian
Railways.
- Rail Neer
- It is our responsibility to provide potable water in
Railway premises to our passengers and we have been shouldering
this responsibility successfully. Drinking water is regularly
tested and any deficiency is immediately rectified. The system in
this regard will be further improved and strengthened. I have been
receiving complaints regarding the poor quality of bottled water
being sold at Railway stations. We have, therefore, decided that
the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. will set
up plants for manufacture of packaged drinking water under the
brand name "Rail Neer". These plants will be set up in a phased
manner through out the country. "Rail Neer" will be the exclusive
brand to be sold at railway premises and trains to ensure that the
Railway user gets quality drinking water. Since the entire
investment in the project will be by IRCTC, it will not put any
additional burden on Indian Railways finances.
- IRCTC
- The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC) has been established for upgrading and professionalising
passenger amenity services on Indian Railways. It has become
functional and has already taken over substantial catering
operations from Indian Railways. The departmental catering of
Indian Railways will be transferred to IRCTC along with catering
staff.
- IRCTC will commission about fifty Food Plazas at Railway
Stations providing wholesome and hygienic food during 2002-2003. A
pilot project for provision of six Budget Hotels will also be
implemented within this year. I have also directed IRCTC to provide
free food to infants less than five years of age and travelling in
Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express trains.
- Sir, I would now like to mention about introduction of
new trains, increase in frequency of trains and extension of
services. Keeping in view the requests received and the
requirements assessed, I am happy to announce the introduction of
the following additional Express trains:-
- Durg-Bangalore via Gondia, Chanda Fort and Secunderabad
(Weekly)
- Guwahati-Jodhpur-Bikaner via Jaipur
(Weekly)
- Jammu Tawi-Haridwar
- Sarnath-Rajgir Budh Purnima Express via Gaya
(Tri-weekly)
- Durg-Jaipur (Weekly)
- Bangalore-Gandhidham via Hubli (Weekly)
- Ahmedabad-Varanasi via Allahabad
(Weekly)
- Hatia-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) via Gaya, Varanasi
(Weekly)
- Garwa Road-Hatia
- Cannanore-Bangalore (Weekly)
- Chennai Egmore-Trivandrum via Nagercoil
- Habibganj-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus)
(Weekly)
- Bhopal-Howrah (Weekly)
- Jaipur-Mumbai (Bandra
Terminus)(Tri-weekly)
- Nanded-Pune (Tri-weekly)
- Nizamuddin-Kanyakumari via Villupuram
(Weekly)
- Howrah-Gorakhpur via Narkatiaganj
(Weekly)
- New Delhi-Howrah (Biweekly)
- Indore-Patna via Bhopal-Lucknow
(Weekly)
- Ahmedabad –Rajkot
- Berhampur-Bhubaneshwar
- Vishakhapatnam-Chennai (Weekly)
- Pathankot-Delhi (Tri-weekly)
- Mhow-Chittorgarh.(MG)
- Ernakulam-Calicut (In place of 6341/6342
Ernakulam-Trivandrum Express via Alleppey and after introduction of
Jan Shatabdi Express between Ernakulam and
Trivandrum)
- Hon’ble Members from the Northeastern States will be
happy to note that the Rajdhani train between Guwahati and New
Delhi will now run every day as the frequency of 2435/2436 New
Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani Express is being increased from biweekly to
four days a week. The frequency of the following pairs of trains is
also being increased :-
- 2421/2422 New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express from
bi-weekly to tri-weekly and re-routing via Adra-Kharagpur instead
of via Howrah.
- 2805/06 Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada Janmabhoomi Express from
six days a week to daily.
- 5211/5212 Amritsar-Darbhanga Jansewa Express via
Narkatiaganj from two days a week to daily.This train will now be
known as Jan Nayak Express.
- 1463/1464 Rajkot-Jabalpur Express from four days a week to
five days a week (by extending 1269/1270 Rajkot Bhopal Express to
Jabalpur via Itarsi once a week).
- 5209/5210 Amritsar-Barauni Jansewa Express from five days
a week to daily via Bhatni, Chhapra, Shahpur
Patoree
- 2129/2130 Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express from three days a
week to four days a week.
- 6509/6510 Ajmer-Bangalore Express from weekly to
bi-weekly.
- 5049/5050 Gorakhpur-Howrah Express from weekly to
bi-weekly and routing via Mau, Indara, Ballia and Shahpur
Patoree.
- 8603/8604 Hatia-Delhi Jharkhand Swarnajayanti Express (via
Daltonganj) from bi-weekly to tri-weekly.
- 8605/8606 Hatia – Delhi Jharkhand Swarnajayanti
Express (via Gaya) from bi-weekly to tri-weekly.
- 5025/5026 Godaan Express from weekly to bi-weekly (once a
week from Gorakhpur to Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) and once a
week from Chhapra to Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) via Bhatni,
Mau and Shahganj).
- 9311/9312 Indore –Pune Express via Vasai Road from
weekly to bi-weekly.
- 4319/4320 Dehradun-Kathgodam Express from weekly to
bi-weekly.
- I am also happy to announce the extension of the following
services:-
- 1003/1004 Mumbai-Nanded Devgiri Express to
Nizamabad.
- 5045/5046 Gorakhpur-Ahmedabad Weekly Express to
Okha
- 4231/4232 Lucknow-Saharanpur Express to
Chandigarh.
- 6519/6520 Bangalore-Bangarapet Express to
Jolarpettai.
- 8101/8102 Tata-Hatia-Pathankot Express to Jammu
Tawi.
- 6589/6590 Bangalore-Miraj Rani Chennamma Express to
Kolhapur.
- 4859/4860 Delhi-Jodhpur Express to
Jaisalmer.
- 4845/4846 Jodhpur-Ahmedabad Suryanagari Express to Mumbai
(Bandra Terminus) four days a week.
- 5005/5006 Dehradun-Gorakhpur Express (tri-weekly) to
Muzaffarpur once a week via Narkatiaganj.
- 8025/8026 Shalimar-Bankura Aranyak Express to
Adra.
- 5302/5305 Kanpur-Kasganj Express to Bareilly
(MG)
- 3245/3246 Danapur-Katihar Capital Express to New
Jalpaiguri
- 1269/1270 Rajkot Bhopal Express to Jabalpur via Bina-Katni
(two days a week)
- 4269/4270 Lucknow-Chopan-Shaktinagar-Singrauli Triveni
Express to Barwadih by running a link express between Chopan and
Barwadih.
- 8441/42 Bhubaneshwar –Palasa Intercity Express to
Srikakulam.
- 243/244 Visakhapatnam-Srikakulam MEMU to
Palasa.
- It is my pleasure to inform the House that on completion
of electrification of circular railway at Lucknow which is
targetted for 31st March, 2002, I propose to introduce
circular MEMU service in Lucknow. During the year, MEMU services
are also proposed to be introduced between Virar and Dahanu Road
and between Palghat Town and Erode. In addition, the following new
passenger trains are proposed to be introduced:-
- Guwahati-New Bongaigaon via Goalpara
- Delhi-Meerut
- Rewari-Delhi Sarai Rohilla (MG)
- Pathankot-Jammu Tawi
- Harihar-Hubli
- Jhansi-Bina
- Saharanpur-Shamli
- Annual Plan 2002-2003
- Sir, now I would like to present Annual Plan 2002-2003.
The Plan outlay for 2002-2003 has been kept at Rs 10,120 cr. Taking
into account the outlay of Rs 2,210 cr on safety related works
through the Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF), the total outlay
comes to Rs 12,330 cr. This is Rs 1,473 cr higher than the Revised
Estimates of last year. Net of SRSF, the increase amounts to Rs 663
cr. For the year 2002-2003, the total funds received from General
Exchequer are Rs 5,840 cr, including Rs 1,350 cr as contribution
towards the SRSF and Rs 450 cr from the Central Road Fund. The
corresponding figure for last year was Rs 5,738 cr, including Rs
898 cr received for last mile projects, Rs 1,000 cr for the SRSF
and Rs 300 cr from the Central Road Fund.
- In addition to the budgetary support, I propose to provide
Rs 2,630 cr for plan expenditure through internal resource
generation. Although this is Rs 620 cr less than what was budgeted
for last year, the positive feature is that the uncertainty
in realisation of budgeted earnings is not there. As in previous
years, extra-budgetary resources, mainly through market borrowing
from the Indian Railway Finance Corporation will provide the
balance requirements of the Plan. For the Special Railway Safety
Fund, the contribution of the Central Government would be
supplemented by collection of safety surcharge expected to be Rs
860 cr, taking the total outlay under SRSF to Rs 2,210
cr.
- Sir, the thrust of the Annual Plan is expansion and
safety. The total outlay under Capital on the five major plan
project heads this year has been kept at Rs 2,888 cr with Rs 911 cr
on New Lines, Rs 862 cr on Gauge Conversion, Rs 610 cr for Doubling
and Rs 237 cr for Electrification. The outlay on metropolitan
transport projects has been kept at Rs 268 cr. This, along with the
multi-lateral funding expected for MRVC would give an impetus to
these projects.
- In order to give a major thrust to R&D activities, the
outlay for Railway research is being doubled. The allocation to the
planheads critical to safety has also been increased substantially.
The outlay on these planheads, inclusive of outlay given under the
Special Railway Safety Fund, is Rs.2703 cr for Track Renewals, Rs.
204 cr for Bridges and Rs.725 cr for Signaling &
Telecommunications. These outlays are 46%, 86% and 75% higher than
their respective revised estimates for
2001-2002.
Contd...
|
|
