He justified the hike saying the expenditure on several things
including amenities, hygiene and safety is such that the fares have to
be hiked for getting the Railways back on track. Private investment,
bullet train, Diamond Quadrilateral of high-speed trains, and modern
facilities were some of the highlights of Gowda's Rail Budget.
Gowda announced a bullet train and high speed trains between
major stations. While the bullet train has been proposed on the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, he also announced high speed trains on 9 routes
including Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Kanpur, Kanpur-Nagpur and
Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai with an increased speed of 200 kmph. He
announced the formation of a Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed
trains between the metros.
Just like his predecessors, Gowda also introduced many new
trains. The already burdened network will run 58 new trains including 5
Jansadharan, 5 Premium, 6 AC, 27 Express, 8 Passenger, 2 MEMU and 5 DEMU
trains and 11 train extensions. In addition, he also proposed rail
connectivity to 'chaar dham' in Uttarakhand, saying rail network to
Kedarnath and Badrinath has been explored.
Focusing on security he said RPF personnel will be deployed on
stations and trains. Gowda said these would include 4,000 women RPF
personnel to ensure the safety of women passengers. He said the women
RPF personnel will be deployed in women coaches of trains.
He also stressed upon the need for private investment in the
railways focusing on the Public-Private Partnership model. Gowda also
proposed Foreign Direct Investment in all other sectors in the Railways
except for operations.
Gowda also proposed new passenger amenities, which have been a
challenge for the Railways over the years. Foot-over bridges,
escalators, sufficient water supplies at stations, toilets at stations
and battery operated cars for the differently-abled were among the
amenities proposed by Gowda. He added that cleanliness services can be
outsources to provide better services.
He also proposed workstations in some trains on payment basis for
enabling people to work while travelling. He added that a pilot project
will begin this year.
Talking about hygiene, Gowda proposed ready to eat meals of
various brands on board trains. He said that if the food does not match
the quality standards, severe action will be taken including
cancellation of licence of the brand. He also proposed serving of
regional food on trains, the pilot project of which will begin between
New Delhi-Chandigarh and New Delhi-Jammu Tavi.
Gowda also proposed setting up of a Railway University for
technical and non-technical subjects. He also said that summer
internships will be provided in the Railways to engineering
undergraduates.
Bringing no relief in fares after last month's 14 per cent hike,
Gowda said that the tariff policy lacked rational approach over the
years. He said that UPA government's railway projects were populist in
nature and therefore, have left the Railways in the shambles.
Gowda also spoke of expanding the scope of online booking system.
He also proposed ticket vending machines on stations for train tickets.
Other services proposed in the Narendra Modi government's maiden Rail
Budget include wake-up calls for passengers, station alerts and maps.
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