Rail Budget 2012 Thrust on Safety & Modernisation [Apr 2012]

Rail gadi ki chuk chuk mein hi aam aadmi ki dhak dhak hai, rail gadi ki barakkat mein hi desh ki barakkat hai-Dinesh Trivedi, Railway Minister
Though, for the first time in a decade a railway minister has taken the decision of increasing passenger fares; railway has proposed its thrust for raising investment in modernisation and upgrading rail infra.

• 75 New Express Trains, 21 new Passenger Services, 9 DEMU and 8 MEMU services• 137 services new sub-urban services to come up in Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata • 725 km new lines to be introduced • A Green Train and 200 Green Energy Stations proposed • 19,000 km rail tracks to be modernised• Target freight loading 1,025 MT• More than one lakh employment
Though the Railway Budget 2012-13 tabled by the Minister of Railways Dinesh Trivedi proposed ‘marginal’ hike in passenger fares; it gives very high priority to rail safety and security. Mr. Trivedi proposed a budget with highest ever plan outlay of Rs. 60,100 crore which provides Rs. 6,872 crore for new railway lines and significant funds for passengers safety, security and amenities.
Prime FocusIn rail budget 2012-13, the railway minister has focused on five important fields which are: Safety, Consolidation, Decongestion & Capacity Augmentation, Modernisation, and to bring down the Operating Ratio from 95 per cent to 84.9 per cent in 2012-13.
New ServicesThe railway minister has proposed 75 new express trains, 21 new passenger services, 9 DEMU services and 8 MEMU services. Mr. Trivedi also announced the extension of the 39 trains; increase in the frequency of 23 trains; 75 additional services to run in Mumbai suburban; 44 new suburban services to be introduced in Kolkata area; 50 new services to be introduced in Kolkata Metro; and 18 additional services to be run in Chennai area.Fund AllocationProposing highest ever plan outlay of Rs. 60,100 crore for the railway budget, the minister informed that it will be financed through Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs. 24,000 crore; Railway Safety Fund of Rs. 2,000 crore; internal resources of Rs. 18,050 crore; and Extra Budgetary Resources of Rs. 16,050 crore, which includes market borrowing of Rs. 15,000 crore through IRFC.
Safety MattersConsidering various recommendations of the Anil Kakodkar and Sam Pitroda Committees, the railway budget 2012-13 laid emphasis on passengers’ safety and security. Mr. Trivedi chose five focus areas namely: track, bridges, signalling & telecommunication, rolling stock, and stations & freight terminals. The minister also announced the setting up of a Rail-Road Grade Separation Corporation to eliminate level crossings.
Green RailThe railway minister announced the introduction of a ‘Green Train’ to run through the pristine forests of North Bengal. Also 200 remote railway stations will be set up as ‘green energy stations’ powered entirely by solar energy; solar lighting system will be provided at 1,000 manned level crossing gates; 2,500 coaches will be equipped with bio toilets. Additionally, railways to set up 72 MW capacity windmill plants in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Employment OpportunityDuring 2011-12 the railways recruited over 80,000 persons to fill up various vacancies. Now, in an aim to wipe-off backlog of SC/ST/OBC and other categories, the Railway Minister proposed to recruit over one lakh persons during 2012-13.

I am particularly impressed with the proposed move to modernise 19,000 km of route length that carries 80% of the total rail traffic-Hemant Kanoria, CMD, Srei Infrastructure Finance

Creation of a separate Secretary for PPP projects reflects a sense of purpose to attract investments in Railways-Sanjay Chandra, Chief Executive (Railways), KEC International

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