Budget Speech by MR

New coach manufacturing and maintenance facilities to be set up in various places including Rae Bareli, Bhilwara, Sonepat, Kalahandi, Kolar, Palakkad and Pratapgarh

Rs 9000 crore investments expected including Rs 3,800 crore in port connectivity and Rs 800 crore in iron ore mines connectivity

Allocation of Rs 1,000 crore each made for railway land development authority and railway station development authority.

Railways set to enter 1 billion ton freight club of China, Russia and US

Common rail-bus ticket to be introduced for Katra-Vaishnodevi pilgrims

New train Azadi Express to places linked with the freedom struggle to be introduced, fares to be concessional

Internet booking to be provided from 0030 hours to 2330 hours

Internet booking to be strengthened with next-generation e-ticketing system to eliminate delays

Special A/C coaches ‘Anubhuti’, to be introduced in select Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains to give excellent ambience with commensurate fare

Railways will use Aadhar data base for bookings and validation of passengers

SMS alert service being rolled out shortly to intimate passengers about reservation status

Free wi-fi facility to be provided in select trains

Plan to allow e-ticketing via mobile phones

Railway committed to bring marked change in passenger amenities

Aim to eliminate 31,846 level crossings

Identification of 104 stations for upgradation in places with more than one million population and of religious significance

Railways to set up six more Rail Neer bottling plants

10% reservation for women in RPF

Presence of women in RPF to go up

Plan for elephant corridor safety

Corporate safety plan proposed

Railway safety fund inadequate

Fall in accidents — per million accidents down from .41 to .13

There has been significant drop in train accidents

Rs. 95,000 crore shortfall, meeting this shortfall will mean a paradigm shift

Rs 1 lakh crore to be raised from public-private partnership, Rs 1.05 lakh crore through internal resources in the 12th Plan

12th Plan railway size to be Rs 5.19 lakh crore, with gross budgetary support of Rs 1.94 lakh crore

Steep increase in input costs have been met with hike in Freight rates: Bansal

Railways powerful vehicle driving the growth of the country: Bansal

Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal presents his maiden budget in Parliament

Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal arrives in Parliament to present his maiden budget.

A day before presenting the budget, Mr. Bansal said that there was a demand for more trains. But he did not disclose whether he would concede it, as his predecessors did.

"The government is for the people. You will have to see the budget from that point of view...," he said at an informal chat with reporters, when asked whether the budget would be people-friendly.