Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi applauded the Rail Budget, presented by Union Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda in the Lok Sabha today. According to the PM, the Rail Budget is a futuristic and growth oriented budget. He said “The budget is a forward-looking ‘growth engine’, and will promote transparency and integrity. The Railway Budget is for the common people. It keeps in mind the development of India as it integrates the best of technology to benefit the common man.” “This Budget shows where we want to take the railways and at the same time where we want to take India through the railways,” the official Twitter account of the Prime Minister tweeted. He highlighted that the Rail Budget aspired for better service, speed and safety.
Rail Budget aspires for better service, speed & safety. It is an effort to create a modern Railways contributing towards a developed India.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2014
Congratulations to the Railway Minister for presenting a futuristic & growth oriented budget. It is a budget for the common people.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2014
Presenting the Rail Budget, Shri Gowda announced the much anticipated plans to introduce a bullet train in Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector and also mentioned setting up of a Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed rail connecting major metros and growth centres.
Highlights of the Rail Budget:1. Rail Budget Seeks Course Correction, Avoids Populism 2. No Increase in Rail Fare 3. Stress on Resource Mobilization through PSU Surplus, FDI and PPP 4. Bullet Train on Ahmedabad-Mumbai Corridor Proposed, Speed of Trains to be Increased in Nine Sectors 5. Increasing the speed of trains to 160 to 200 kms per hour on nine select sectors, which proposes to allow all experimental stoppages to lapse after September this year. 6. More Thrust on Passenger Amenities, Cleanliness & Efficient Station Management 7. Multi Pronged Approach for Improving Safety & Security, 4000 Women RPF Constables to be Recruited 8. Revamping Railway Reservation System into Next Generation e-Ticketing, WI-FI Services in Major Stations & in Select Trains, Mobile based Wakeup Calls for Passengers 9. 58 New Trains Introduced; 11 Existing Trains Extended 10. Railway University and Innovation Incubation Centre to be Set UP 11. Top Priority to Transparency, e-procurement to be made 12. Compulsory in Higher Purchase, Online Registration for Wagons in Next Two Months 13. Highest Ever Plan Outlay of Rs. 65,445 Crore with Higher Allocation for Safety Measures
