In the bouquet of budget announcements Railway Minister Lalu Prasad made for Maharashtra, the decision to conduct a pre-feasibility study to introduce an elevated air-conditioned suburban train service in Mumbai has attracted attention of the city's seven million commuters.
The proposal is to introduce the service on the Mumbai Central-Virar suburban section of Western Railway (WR). After establishing the financial viability, its implementation will be considered through options like public-private partnership (PPP).
By 2008-09, 300 new services are planned on the suburban section to ease commuters' miseries. The trial run for issuing rail tickets, monthly season tickets and platform tickets on smart cards through PPP has already begun on Central Railway (CR).
The smart card scheme, to be commissioned by March, will be named "Go Mumbai Go". The cards will be sold at railway stations, BEST bus depots and other convenient locations in the city.
Encouraged by the response to the eight Garib Rath Express trains that have air-conditioned coaches but lower charges, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Tuesday announced introduction of 10 more such trains.
Presenting the railway budget for 2008-09, Lalu Prasad said Garib Raths will link every state capital in the coming years and more such trains would be added in phases.
He announced six tri-weekly Garib Raths namely Jaipur-Chandigarh, Secunderabad-Vishakhapatnam, Varnasi-Delhi, Bangalore-Kochuveli, Yashvantpur-Puducherry and Pune-Nagpur. Three bi-weekly Garib Raths will also run between Ranchi-Delhi, Jabalpur-Mumbai and Delhi-Jaynagar via Patna. The Jammu Tawi-Kathgodam Garib Rath will run weekly.
With marginal cuts in freight and passenger fares and with a cash profit of Rs.250 billion for this fiscal, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad presented his fifth budget Tuesday, adding another chapter to the dramatic turnaround story of the Indian Railways.
Springing a surprise on 14 million passengers who travel by Indian trains every day, Lalu Prasad said that fares would be cut by five percent in sleeper class, four percent in AC II Class, three percent in AC III Tier and seven percent in AC I Class. Transportation of fuels would also cost five percent less.
The minister also announced in the Lok Sabha 10 new 'garib raths' and 53 other new trains for the next fiscal. He said that for the first time tickets would have the expected time of arrival of trains to ensure punctuality.
"Everybody is appreciating that I have done tremendous work," Lalu Prasad, who was dressed in a cream-coloured sleeveless sweater and his trademark white kurta pyjama, said in English before proceeding with the 115-minute speech in Hindi.
"We have created an organisation where every child will say Chak de Railways!" said Lalu Prasad in his last full budget for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, with an eye clearly on elections in several states and the later Lok Sabha ballot.
The Indian Railways run more than 11,000 trains every day, 7,000 of which are for passengers. The network comprises 108,706 km and ferries the 14 million passengers from 6,853 stations across the length and breadth of the country.
Given its importance, this is also the only ministry that has a separate annual statement of accounts outside the national budget, which will be presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday.
As he read out the budget proposals, Lalu Prasad said the private sector would be permitted to build terminals on land owned by the railways. Consultations will begin with foreign companies to design new wagons.
Some of the measures directed at the average citizen included tickets through mobile phones, issuance of wait-listed e-tickets, 6,000 ticketing machines by 2009, LED display boards at stations and higher platforms at 135 stations.
He also announced modular toilets in trains, modernised coaches for some premier trains like Rajdhanis and Shatabdis, touch screens and colour TVs at all major stations and stainless-steel coaches for all trains by 2010.
The minister said that in the past four years, the plan investment in railways had almost tripled to Rs.300 billion from Rs.110 million even as the freight target of 785 million tonnes was surpassed this fiscal with 790 million tonnes.
He also said that revenues from passenger fares had jumped by 14 percent, while income from freight loading was up close to 10 percent at Rs.347 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal.
This apart, the minister said the rail infrastructure would be upgraded over the next seven years at an investment of Rs.750 billion along with the proposal to set up 20,000 km of high-density network for speedier trains.
The minister began his speech, seeking to assuage feelings of some members from Karnataka who took offence to reported comments made by him that they said was offensive to their state.
"I have already clarified my position. Remember, I had made a prime minister from Karnataka," the minister said amid laughter, referring to the support he gave to H.D. Deve Gowda in forming a government.
As he came to the end of Part One of his speech after some 110 minutes, there were noisy protests by opposition members. But Lalu Prasad persisted in reading the report even though Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked him to table it.
"If leaders of parties behave this way, I cannot understand," an anguished Chatterjee said. "Those who don't want to listen, may go out."
Indo-Asian News Service
Following are the highlights of the Railway Budget 2008-09, presented in the Lok Sabha Tuesday by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad:
- Passenger fares reduced across the board
- Second class fares for journeys over 50 km to cost 5 percent less
- Sleeper fares down by 5 percent
- AC III-tier fares cut by 2 percent
- AC II-tier fares reduced 4 percent
- AC first class fares down 7 percent
- Freight rates slashed by 14 percent across the board
- Freight charges for petrol and diesel cut by 5 percent
- Free season tickets to girl students till graduation
- 50 percent concession for AIDS patients, senior women citizens and Ashok Chakra awardees
- Arrival time to be printed on tickets
- Wait-listed e-tickets to be introduced
- Tickets to be confirmed through mobile phones
- 20,000 km of high-density network planned
- 30 major stations to have multi-level platforms
- All level crossings to be manned
- Staff benefit fund to be increased by 10 times this fiscal
- Only stainless steel coaches to be made from now on
- Many Rajdhani trains extended to cover more destinations
- Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains to have new coaches by 2011
- Hospital trains to be introduced with healthcare and operating facilities
- 16,548 km of railway track to be replaced
- Railways to build cargo terminals in 50 major locations
- Private companies can have their own cargo terminals on railway land
- Wagon leasing policy introduced to facilitate business
- Additional Rs.200 billion earned on freight services
- 790 tonnes payload or weight per freight train target achieved
- Payload to go up 78 percent by increasing wagons to 58 from 40
- 15,000 freight wagons to be added
- 470 engines to be added in 2008-09
- 15,000 automated ticket machines by 2009
- Smartcard technology for ticketing system
- Rs.40 billion to be spent on green toilets
- More trains in peak season
- Rs.250 billion in profits in 2007-08
- New earnings of 21 percent in 2007-08
- Rs.300 billion to be spent on network expansion
- Rs.492.50 billion invested in new projects
- Cash surplus in 2007-08 at Rs.250 billion
- Operating ratio a favourable 76 percent
Winners of the Ashok Chakra, the highest gallantry award during peace, can get 50 percent concession when they travel in 2AC class, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced Tuesday.
"Paramvir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra and Vir Chakra awardees get 50 percent concession in 2AC. From now on, Ashok Chakra awardees and their companions will (also) get 50 percent concession in 2AC," the minister said.
Indo-Asian News Service
If Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has his way, every child in India will proclaim "Chak de! Railways" in the manner actor Shah Rukh Khan popularised the game of hockey in a Bollywood film.
Detailing the multifarious achievements of the world's largest rail network under a single management, Lalu Prasad said at one stage during his budget speech in parliament: "Goal pe goal daag rahe hai, Desh ka bachcha bole, Chak de Railways!" (We are scoring goal after goal, every child should say 'Chak De Railways').
It served its purpose as laughter rippled through a packed Lok Sabha.
Lalu Prasad, however, was not done with collecting brownie points.
"Everybody is happy with our performance," he said at one stage, adding at another: "Customers are our god."
This remark, in itself, is indicative of the new thinking in the Indian Railways that have seen a dramatic turnaround in the last five years.
*-*
Water please!
Sooner or later, given the purposeful manner in which Lalu Prasad delivered the budget speech, he was bound to feel thirsty.
Halfway into the speech, he seamlessly inserted the line "aur aab ham pani piyenge!" (Now I'll drink water).
Needless to say, this too brought the house down.
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Language problems
That the railway minister is a considerate man was evident Tuesday.
While reciting a couplet in Hindi, he suddenly realised it was not making sense to many members, in spite of the English translation available to them over their headphones.
"Don't worry, I'll translate it into English for you," Lalu Prasad said, and promptly did so.
Indo-Asian News Service
Following are the highlights of the Railway Budget 2008-09, presented in the Lok Sabha Tuesday by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad:
1. Arrival time to be printed on tickets
2. Wait-listed e-tickets to be introduced
3. Tickets to be confirmed through mobile phones
4. 50 percent concession for AIDS patients in AC II-tier
5. 15,000 automated ticket machines by 2009
6. Smartcard technology for ticketing system
7. Rs.40 billion to be spent on green toilets
8. More trains in peak season
9. Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains to have new coaches by 2011
10. Hospital trains to be introduced with healthcare and operating facilities
11. 16,548 km of railway track to be replaced
12. Railways to build cargo terminals in 50 major locations
13. Private companies can have their own cargo terminals
14. Wagon leasing policy introduced to facilitate business
15. Additional Rs.200 billion earned on freight services
16. 790 tonnes payload or weight per freight train target achieved
17. Payload to go up 78 percent by increasing wagons to 58 from 40
18. 15,000 freight wagons to be added
19. 470 engines to be added in 2008-09
20. Rs.250 billion in profits in 2007-08
21. New earnings of 21 percent in 2007-08
22. Rs.300 billion to be spent on network expansion
23. Rs.492.50 billion invested in new projects
24. Cash surplus in 2007-08 at Rs.250 billion
25. Operating ratio a favourable 76 percent
Indo-Asian News Service
One of the few services to remain unaffected by inflation over the past four years is rail travel.
In the three years and 10 months since the United Progressive Alliance assumed power, during which the average annual inflation rate peaked at 6.5% in 2004-05, the prices of railway tickets have remained largely unchanged.
Lalu Prasad, who will present his fifth and perhaps last railway budget on Tuesday, assuming the general election is held on schedule early next year, will, if he doesn’t raise fares, perhaps be remembered as the only railway minister who has served out full term and yet never raised ticket fares.
There are other things to remember Prasad, widely feted for his role in turning around the Indian Railways, and a former chief minister of Bihar, by but most analysts believe that the minister will once again announce a cut in fares across multiple passenger classes.
Officials who have worked closely with the minister say freezing ticket fares was a diktat laid down by Prasad.
“There was no question of raising fares. It was a given that the fares just could not be raised and the minister would not tolerate any argument on that. He wants to be known as the minister who did not raise fares and therefore was pro-poor,” says an official of the Railway Board who did not wish to be identified. The Railway Board is the top management body of the railways.
The railway minister’s office said he was not available for comment.
In two of the four railway budgets that he has presented, the 59-year-old railway minister has cut rates for rail travel for passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches and on suburban routes.
According to a former Railway Board official, this has meant that the railways has had to absorb Rs7,000 crore in losses on its passenger business. This is subsidized by revenues from its freight business, which has grown 35% over the last four years on the back of an economy that has grown at more than 9% over the past two years. At the same time, the railways has added capacity to coaches and thereby raised revenues per train.
Some analysts view Prasad’s strategy as part of a larger design, where he has parlayed his concern for the poor into a reform initiative that has pushed through structural change in the system, including partnerships with the private sector for big ticket projects.
Prasad was the first railway minister to employ the concept of public-private partnership projects. As a result, the railways is now developing budget hotels and world class stations—which will be built on the scale of international airports—using the PPP model and leveraging surplus land to raise resources.
A similar approach has been adopted for involving private participation in production units, sanitation and several other services that are now being provided by the government. Prasad has managed to do these by arguing and convincing people within railways and the government that privatization and PPPs are not the same.
“Privatization and PPP are different things. We do not per se object to PPP, but feasibility of proposed PPP projects must be examined. Whether it is being sought in station-building or in new rail links, or train conducting services, must be made clear first,” said Prakash Javdekar, spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party.
It isn’t clear if Prasad will use his final budget to provide impetus to the showpiece Dedicated Freight Corridor project that ambitiously envisages linking the metros with railway lines that will be used by freight trains. Although it was announced in 2005, the project is yet to materialize with the railways unable to close the required funding, an estimated Rs28,000 crore.
Similarly, the plan to develop budget hotels in partnership with the private sector, too, is yet to be implemented in full as only about one-fifth of the 100 projects have been awarded so far, even two years after it was conceived.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Basudeb Acharia, a member of Parliament who also heads the standing committee on the railways said that the ruling UPA and the previous BJP-led coalition have similar policies on privatization.
“There is no change in the previous government’s policy on privatization. That is why nobody opposes it. Now, the railways has proposed modernization of 22 railway stations, largely with private funds. This is nothing but privatization of an essential service and we will oppose it,” Acharia said.
Buoyed by an impressive turn around, Railway minister Lalu Prasad is likely to go in for a nominal reduction in passenger fares and rationalization of freight rates in the “people friendly” Rail budget to be presented in Parliament today.
This will be fourth year in a row that is expected to see Prasad not hiking the passenger fares.
Sources said 26 new projects may be announced in the budget which the Railway minister has said will be “people friendly”.
The Railways’ “major turnaround” in financial and technical performance came in for special mention from President Pratibha Patil in her address to Parliament a day earlier.
While passenger fares may be reduced by 3-5%, freight rates for petroleum, steel and iron ore can come down by 3-4%, sources said.
The reduction is being contemplated as the Railways have managed to cut operational costs while increasing revenue through volume growth, they said.
While freight earnings have risen by 1%, passenger revenue has gone up by 14% during April 2007 to January 2008 providing enough scope to Prasad to go for fare reduction.
The cut in fares is likely to cover all classes while suburban fares may be rationalized.
As far as freight is concerned, Railways would continue with its rationalization policy as observed in the past three budgets.
Railways is also likely to announce some concessional schemes for elders, women, sportspersons and students. There could be some incentives for porters who form a large part of the rail work force and have been demanding Class IV status.
The total plan outlay in the coming Rail Budget is likely to be around Rs36,000 crores while Railways is expected to generate a substantial revenue to meet the growing expenditure through public-private partnership.
There was trouble in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, the day of the rail budget, with Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourning the house till 12 after MPs from various parties raised the issue of suicides by farmers.
The house was adjourned minutes after members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and others gathered near the speaker's podium seeking a discussion on distressed farmers committing suicide.
Earlier, three new members took oath -- Janata Dal-United's Meena Singh from Bihar, Arun Yadav of Congress from Madhya Pradesh and Samajwadi Party's Neeraj Shekhar, son of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, from Uttar Pradesh.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is scheduled to read out the budget as soon as the house reassembles at 12.
Indo-Asian News Service
Type your summary hereWhen Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presents the union budget Feb 29 it will only be the ninth time in India's independent history that the full annual statement of accounts is tabled on the last day of February in a leap year.
Morarji Desai, who was also born Feb 29, had the distinction of not only tabling two full national budgets that day (on Feb 29 in 1960 and 1968) but of also presenting the most number of eight union budgets.
In the immediate past, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha in 2000 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as finance minister in 1992, apart from late N.D. Tiwari in 1988, were among those to present annual budgets Feb 29.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as finance minister in then prime minister Indira Gandhi's cabinet in 1984 also presented a full national budget, as opposed to an interim one, on Feb 29.
The other two occasions were in 1964 by finance minister T.T. Krishnamachari and 1956 by C.D. Deshmukh. In 1952, Deshmukh presented a budget Feb 29 but it was an interim one. He went on to present the full budget a few moths later on May 23.
Interestingly, in 1948, when India's second budget as an independent nation was tabled by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, the date of the presentation was Feb 28, even though it was a leap year and the budget was not an interim one.
This was because Feb 29 that year happened to be a Sunday.
In some of the other leap years, the budgets were never presented Feb 29, mostly because governments were in transition and the finance ministers of the day were obliged to table only vote on accounts and interim budgets.
In recent memory, some leap year interim budgets were presented by Jaswant Singh for the National Democratic Alliance government on Feb 3, 2004, and by Mammohan Singh for the Congress government on Feb 28, 1996.
Turning to Chidambaram, he will be the second finance minister, or a person with the finance portfolio, to present as many as seven budgets. Only Morarji Desai tabled more national budgets than him, with eight.
Deshmukh was next with six full budgets to his credit, followed by five each for Manmohan Singh and Yashwant Sinha.
In 1996, when Chidambaram presented his first regular budget on July 22, the interim budget for that year had been tabled by Manmohan Singh.
Going by the fact that the United Progressive Alliance government's tenure ends May 21, 2009, the incumbent finance minister has another chance to present a budget next year. But given that it will be an election year, he may have to settle for an interim one.
Indo-Asian News Service
Setting the tone for an ‘Election Budget’, railway minister Lalu Prasad is likely to reduce both passenger fares and freight rates, riding a strong revenue growth and reduced operational costs. Rail fares are likely to be cut by 3% to 5% while freight rates for petroleum, steel and iron ore may come down by 4% to 5% due to reclassification of goods.
Since this will be the last full-fledged Railway Budget before the general elections, scheduled for next year, the railway minister is expected to go all out with populist measures, ministry sources said. According to officials at the Rail Bhawan, there will be no deviation from the trend of not hiking freight and passenger rates as the Railways is right on track to meet the twin objectives of reducing operational cost and increasing revenues. Between April 2007 and January 2008, earnings from freight and passenger traffic have grown 11% and 14%, respectively, giving enough cushion for Mr Lalu Prasad to cut rates.
The turnaround time of most trains has been reduced by using the same coaches in more than one sector. The strategy has helped the Railways increase profit without hiking passenger fares or freight rates. A possible cut in passenger fares is likely to cover all categories while short-distance travel charges may see some rationalisation, the sources said.
As in the past three years, the Railways would persist with freight rationalisation to bring down tariffs on steel, cement and petroleum products. “The downward revision in freight rates will happen due to a reduction in the freight determination classes from 210 to 200,” a railway ministry official said.
The railway minister had last year indicated the Rail Budget would be for the aam janata (common man).
He had pointed out that despite the reduction in passenger fares, the railways had earned a profit of Rs 20,000 crore last year by increasing business volumes.
Every year, the Railways go in for freight rationalisation to offer respite to consumers from inflationary pressure. In the 2007 Railway Budget, freight rates for petrol and diesel were brought down by 6%. A proposed cut in freight rates will not result in a revenue loss as the Railways plays the volume game successfully, as in the past.
The focus this year will be to bring down freight rates for heavier commodities such as steel, iron ore and other petroleum products, which are facing pressure from rising costs. For lighter commodities, the Railways has already rejigged the structure by introducing low-rate tariff lines below the lowest freight class comprising 100 commodities.
Rationalisation of freight rates has contributed enormously in Railways’ turnaround. Its total earnings during April 2007 to January 2008 was Rs 57,282 crore compared with Rs 50,765.25 crore during the same period last fiscal, a growth of 12%. The Railways generated Rs 38,748-crore revenues from freight traffic during the period, an 11% year-on-year growth. During the first 10 months of the current fiscal, freight traffic volumes stood at 643 million tonnes, compared with last year’s 593 million tonnes. Earnings from passenger fares were at Rs 16,134 crore (Rs 14,126 crore).
Last year’s Railway Budget had reduced fares for AC-I by 6% in the lean season and 3% in the peak season. Fares in popular trains were lowered uniformly throughout the year by 3%. Peak season AC two-tier fares were reduced by 2% while lean season fares fell 4%. In popular trains, fares were cut across the board by 2%.credits : TOI
In their pre budget memorandum to the Ministry of Railways, Assocham has mooted suggestions that can help step up savings by nearly Rs234 lakh per train p.a
Industry chamber Assocham has mooted a proposal for introduction of End on Generation (EOG) system initially in about 1500 trains in a bid to make railways more efficient in energy savings and to increase their speed. This will enable the railways to save Rs234 lakh per train annually and usher in a second phase of modernization.
In its pre-railway budget memorandum submitted to Ministry of Railways, Assocham president, Venugopal N. Dhoot said that railways currently use self generation system in a number of trains, which need to be replaced with efficient EOG systems.
End on Generation (EOG) is the system used on fully air conditioned Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains. The system comprises two power cars per train. Each power car has two DG sets and each DG set is rated at 300 kW. These are mounted inside the power car or the entire power car coach which is dedicated for these power plants. The power generated by these DG sets is utilized for hotel load of the train.
EOG concept to step up energy efficiency
According to estimates EOG concepts bring in multiple advantages to railways and release hauling capacity of locomotives while saving energy efficiency by over 90%.
Economic benefits for railways on a conservative estimate with introduction of EOG system can be savings in capital investments with building new trains to the tune of Rs93 lakh per train. Recurring returns in energy savings due to increased operational efficiency can be to the tune of Rs130 lakh per train per annum. Reduction of over all rate of the train can bring in savings of Rs11 lakh per train per annum.
Release of traction hauled loads can improve average speed of coaches. There will be no infringement in revenue earning space of SLR coach as DG sets will be mounted under the coach. Indian railways runs about 1500 passenger trains and if this gets applied to all trains, returns will be substantial.
Introduce lighter EOG system in all locomotive hauled mail/express trains
All mail/ express trains would work on the following lines: each SLR coach to be equipped with 1 unit of underslung diesel generator set. Each DG set will be rated between 300 KW to 400 KW depending on the need.
EOG concept will eliminate axle mounted generator and corresponding battery bank and inverter on each coach and replace it with one unit of DG set under the SLR. A 100% back up in the form of second DG set will be used on the second SLR of the train.
SG coaches need an axle mounted generator (1x4.5 kw per standard coach and 2x25 kw per AC coach), corresponding batteries, inverters, pulley, belts, regulator and battery box. The energy to turn the axle mounted generator comes from locomotive. The conversion ratio of usable hotel load to locomotive energy is approximately 1:2. I.E., the system has an efficiency of 50%. This is a huge and recurring wastage and is used on all conventional mail, express and passenger trains. credits: mint
What Probir Ghose wrote on sulekha blog about Indian Railway Budget 2008
The time for the Railway Budget 2008 is fast approaching – by this time next week we would be more knowledgeable on what Laloo-ji has finally given to the commoner. Normally, promises are made left right and centre but very few of these translate into positive action and visible results within the given time frame. He has not increased the train fare as such but there have been discreet increases that add up to substantial amounts given the crores of passengers that travel on the Indian railways. That is neither here nor there – he has to run the establishment and commoners have to bear with him and his railway board members who dream up those wonderful projects. Introduction of Cyber cafés on the railway platforms, providing mobile phone charging points in the train compartments, serving of international brand snacks in the trains, and redesigning the sleeper coaches so that the passengers can maneuver their luggage more easily etcetera are done in keeping with the basic philosophy of stepping ahead with the times. These are in line with the e-ticketing concept.
However, when one comes to discussions on other matters where the Railways need to be more serious are the miserable condition of the toilets in the reserved compartments – these depict the sad state of affairs. Agreed that a majority of people love the open air surroundings during their mandatory morning outings to empty the internal wastes, there is no justification of the dirty and filthy surroundings inside the compartments. The water taps, the wash basins, the mirror and the door locking mechanism are such that these result in avoidance by the travelers. Added to these are the crowds of unreserved persons who occupy the space in front of and around the toilets. The situation is similar in the ordinary sleeper as well as the air conditioned sleeper coaches. And, in order to keep the compartments clean and do regular sweeping, the railways encourage the urchins who keep coming one after another – armed with brooms , these kids are in many cases handicapped – if this is a method of the railways to do their bit for the handicapped, they deserve to be congratulated. That is not usually the case – the children owe their allegiance to other masters who control them from outside. There is no love lost between them – the kids have to count out their earnings to the bosses who hand out the appropriate doles at the end of the day. These might be in cash or in kind – kind is the favored option: especially for the girl kids.
Quite recently, the Railway Minister had taken to task some officers who had not lived upto his expectations down South and had not served him proper food – however, the quality of food that one has become accustomed in the trains is pathetic. The helpless passengers have to grin and bear it all. Due to the large volume of passengers, the catering staff have to cope with tremendous rush – hence, the personal touch that used to be there during the 60s has vanished. Today, they all talk business – the staff has their tasks cut-out: the new recruits move around with the thermos that contains hot white water – the whiteness is courtesy milk. This universal concoction for hot drinks is accompanied with tea bags of unknown brands and a bottle of coffee powder. Depending on the choice of the customer, the outputs of the two main hot drunks of the Indian public are served. Come meal times, the orders are taken several hours in advance and served at times that one does not normally associate with either lunch or dinner.
Then are the Supermen of the Railways better known as the TTEs (Travelling Ticket Examiners). Inside the compartment, they are supreme and are supposed to ensure many important things that must be written down somewhere but that is seldom followed in practice. One presumes that the TTEs should look into the comfort of the passengers who dish out extra money for getting firm reservations. However, the reserved compartments are invariably the place where short distance travelers hop in and squeeze themselves in between the tired travelers. ‘I will go only upto the next stop,’ he pleads – the ‘next stop’ in long distance trains might very well be four hours away! Those who possess valid reservations are, therefore, put to a lot of inconvenience due to the attitude of TTEs who never try to prevent such intrusions. Obviously, the argument gains ground that the TTEs earn money on the sly by permitting such irregularities.
While giving the finishing touches to the 2008 budget proposals, the Railway Minister should spare a thought for its customers and consider methods to eliminate irritants that passengers have to face in their journeys. When one reserves a berth for a long distance journey, he has certain expectations – the railways should reciprocate by making the journey as pleasant as possible for the traveler so that the expectations are fulfilled.
Rail Bhavan in the heart of the national capital wears a busy look as Railway Minister Lalu Prasad prepares to present his fifth successive budget Feb 26, having given ample evidence that passengers will again be spared fare hikes.
"One thing stands clearly proven in these four years: by just increasing fares, you cannot improve the state of railways," the minister told IANS, having turned around the fortunes of Indian Railways - the world's largest railroad network under a single management - in the four previous rail budgets.
"There are many inaccessible remote areas still untouched by the railways after so many years on the plea that these are financially unviable. My government has a social obligation," Lalu Prasad said, even as officials rushed in and out of his well-appointed second-floor room with flagged files.
"Therefore my effort is to see that even if it is considered uneconomical, we have to see how to make this network expansion viable," said Prasad, adding he clearly understood the importance of railways in the country - the only area that has a separate budget outside the union budget.
The network runs more than 11,000 trains every day - 7,000 for passengers - on a network spread over 108,706 track km, carrying over 13 million passengers from as many as 6,853 stations.
Lalu Prasad's confidant and officer on special duty Sudhir Kumar, normally at hand to brief the media about the minister's engagements, is nowhere to be seen and officials said he would remain incommunicado till the D-Day Feb 26.
"He is not sitting here for some time now. He is currently functioning from the budget room. It is barred for outsiders," Kumar's personal assistant said. "He is really busy. He has to implement what the minister wants."
In the four budgets that Lalu Prasad has presented for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government so far, Indian Railways has seen a complete financial transformation. So much so that it has become a case study at major management schools both within and outside the country, with premier institutions like Wharton and the Harvard Business School even inviting the minister as a guest lecturer.
In the last fiscal, for example, the railways saw its earnings from freight and passengers respectively jump 17 percent and 14 percent. The incremental loading of freight was projected to have jumped by 59 million tonnes.
One of the most popular moves initiated by him was to introduce the AC three-tier sleeper on most trains, and this has seen a 20 percent annual growth rate. So has his Garib Rath scheme that addresses the needs of the average passenger.
"I think one area where there will be added focus is public-private partnership, since he has promised to make every aspect of Indian Railways world class, which requires ideas from the private sector," said a former Railway Board member.
"His budget speech may sound populist, but you will perhaps see some initiatives emerging in areas like freight corridors, development of railway land, logistics parks, high-speed trains and upgrade of stations," the former bureaucrat added.
India Rail Budget 2008, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rail BUdget, Budget Highlights
Indo-Asian News Service