Railway Budget skirts fare hike; ups indirect charges

26 Feb 2013

Presenting the Railway Budget for 2013-14 in Parliament today, minister Pawan Kumar Bansal avoided a further hike in passenger fares.

Pawan Kumar Bansal Instead he settled for hikes in peripherals like supplementary fee, superfast train charges, reservation fee, cancellation fee and charges on the 'tatkal' fee; freight charges were also raised indirectly by almost 5 per cent.

"A dynamic fuel adjustment component will be introduced on freight rates from 1 April that will result in less than 5 per cent increase in rates," Bansal said.

Announcing an estimated outlay of Rs5,19,000 crore for the upcoming fiscal year, the minister said that the estimated losses of the Railways stood at Rs24,000 crore in 2012-13.

This is in sharp contrast to the positive kitty built up by the Railways in the last decade, when the National Democratic Alliance government appointed Nitish Kumar, now chief minister of Bihar, as railway minister.

Kumar managed to turn the notoriously loss-making Railways around; and his successor, Bihar's previous chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, managed through some short cuts to maintain the profits.

Subsequently, in what is known as the UPA-2 government, the ministry fell into the hands of the Trinamool Congress led Mamata Banerjee.

After Banerjee left Delhi to become Chief Minister of West Bengal, she appointed Dinesh Trivedi as railway minster, a portfolio she snatched away from him when he dared to suggest a passenger fee hike in his 2012-13 budget speech.

Meanwhile, Railways has sunk back into loss; passenger amenities are deteriorating to abysmal levels; and worst of all, train accidents have become so routine that they hardly make the headlines.

Moreover, economists point out that with the latest levy, Indian rail freight charges will probably be the highest in the world. In a country with the world's second-largest railway network, this does incalculable harm to the country's growth ambitions.

"The growth of Indian Railways is inextricably linked to the growth of the country," Bansal said in his budget speech in the Lok Sabha. "It must remain financially sustainable. Resources generated must be ploughed back."

The minister said the Railways remained the single most important catalyst in India's growth story and was a vital organisation integrating the nation from Baramulla in the north to Kanyamumari in the south.

Bansal said in his presentation to Parliament that freight and passenger fares would have to be based on "economic realities".

"The rail network needs to be expanded at a faster rate. The growth of railways is linked to the growth of country," he said.

A thorn in the Railways' side has been the IRCTC, which continues to hold an unexplained monopoly on services from online ticket booking to railway catering despite countless complaints about unhygienic food and inadequate services.

According to Bansal himself, the Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corp "causes inordinate delay". At the time of writing, the IRCTC website was dysfunctional.

Bansal also announced the creation of 27 new passenger trains and 67 new express trains, and said that services to religious destinations will be increased. The routes of 58 trains will be extended.

This proposal is begging for flak from political observers, as Bansal has continued the disastrous practice of increasing rolling stock without the concomitant upgrade of infrastructure.

In a ministry that has always had great scope for patronage, Bansal said the Railways had 120,000 vacancies, which it would seek to fill.

"Around 47,000 vacancies for the weaker sections (of society) and the physically challenged will be filled up soon," he said.

Bansal said that the Indian Railways was set to enter the billion-tonne freight club of China, Russia and the US.

Railways propose 67 new express trains, 26 passenger services

The Railways proposes to introduce as many as 67 express trains and 26 passenger trains this year, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced today.

Presenting the 2013-14 Railway Budget, Bansal also said the Railways will introduce five mainline electrical multiple units (MEMUs) besides eight diesel electric multiple units (DEMUs) this year.

Besides, the Railways proposes to extend as many as 57 trains and increase the frequency of 24 trains, he said.

The new express trains include:

Ahmedabad - Jodhpur Express (weekly) via Samdari, Bhildi
Ajni (Nagpur)-Lokmanya Tilak (T) Express (weekly) via Hingoli
Amritsar-Lalkuan Express (weekly) via Chandigarh
Bandra Terminus-Ramnagar Express (weekly) via Nagda, Mathura, Kanpur, Lucknow, Rampur
Bandra Terminus-Jaisalmer Express (weekly) via Marwar, Jodhpur
Bandra Terminus-Hisar Express (weekly) via Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Marwar, Jodhpur, Degana
Bandra Terminus-Haridwar Express (weekly) via Valsad
Bangalore-Mangalore Express (weekly)
Bathinda-Jammu Tawi Express (weekly) via Patiala, Rajpura
Bhubaneswar-Hazrat Nizamuddin Express (weekly) via Sambalpur
Bikaner-Chennai AC Express (weekly) via Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Nagda, Bhopal, Nagpur
Chandigarh-Amritsar Intercity Express (daily) via Sahibzada Ajitsingh, Nagar (Mohali), Ludhiana
Chennai-Karaikudi Express (weekly)
Chennai-Palani Express (daily) via Jolarpettai, Salem, Karur, Namakkal
Chennai Egmore-Thanjavur Express (daily) via Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai
Chennai-Nagarsol (for Sai Nagar Shirdi) Express (weekly) via Renigunta, Dhone, Kacheguda
Chennai-Velankanni Link Express (daily) via Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur
18. Coimbatore-Mannargudi Express (daily) via Tiruchchirappalli, Thanjavur, Nidamangalam
Coimbatore-Rameswaram Express (weekly)
Delhi-Firozpur Intercity Express (daily) via Bathinda
Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Sikar Express (bi-weekly) after gauge conversion
Delhi-Hoshiarpur Express (weekly)
Durg-Jaipur Express (weekly)
Gandhidham-Visakhapatnam Express (weekly) via Ahmedabad, Wardha, Ballarshah, Vijaywada
Hazrat Nizamuddin-Mumbai AC Express (weekly) via Bhopal, Khandwa, Bhusawal
Howrah-Chennai AC Express (bi-weekly) via Bhadrak, Duvvada, Gudur
Howrah-New Jalpaiguri AC Express (weekly) via Malcia Town
Hubli-Mumbai Express (weekly) via Miraj, Pune
Indore-Chandigarh Express (weekly) via Dewas, Ujjain, Guna, Gwalior, Hazrat Nizamuddin
Jabalpur-Yesvantpur Express (weekly) via Nagpur, Dharmavaram
Jaipur-Lucknow Express (tri-weekly) via Bandikui, Mathura, Kanpur
Jaipur-Alwar Express (daily)
Jodhpur-Jaipur Express (daily) via Phulera
Jodhpur-Kamakhya (Guwahati) Express (weekly) via Degana, Ratangarh
Kakinada-Mumbai Express (bi-weekly)
Kalka-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (bi-weekly) via Hazrat Nizamuddin, Bhopal, Itrasi
Kamakhya (Guwahati)-Anand Vlhar Express (weekly) via Katihar, Barauni, Sitapur Cantt, Moradabad
Kamakhya (Guwahati)-Bangalore AC Express (weekly)
Kanpur-Anand Vihar Express (weekly) via Farrukhabad
Katihar-Howrah Express (weekly) via Malda Town
Katra-Kalka Express (bi-weekly) via Morinda
Kolkata-Agra Express (weekly) via Amethi, Rae Bareli, Mathura
Kolkata-Sitamarhi Express (weekly) via Jhajha, Barauni, Darbhanga
Kota-Jammu Tawi Express (weekly) via Mathura, Palwal
Kurnool Town-Secunderabad Express (daily)
Lokmanya Tilak (T)-Kochuveli Express (weekly)
Lucknow-Varanasi Express via Rae-Bareli (6 days a week)
Madgaon-Mangalore Intercity Express (daily) via Udupi, Karwar
Mangalore-Kacheguda Express (weekly) via Dhone, Gooty, Renigunta, Coirnbatore
Mau-Anand Vihar Express (bi-weekly)
Mumbai-Solapur Express (6 days a week) via Pune
Nagercoil-Bangalore Express (daily) via Madurai, Tiruchchirappalli
New Delhi-Katra AC Express (6 days a week)
Nizamabad-Lokmanya Tilak (T) Express (weekly)
Patna-Sasaram Intercity Express (daily) via Ara
Patliputra (Patna)-Bangalore Express (Weekly) Via Chheoki
Puducherry-Kanniyakumari Express (weekly) via Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchchirappalli
Puri-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (weekly) via Sambalpur, Titlagarh, Raipur, Nagpur, Bhusawal
Puri-Ajmer Express (weekly) via Abu-Road
Radhikapur-Anand Vihar Link Express (daily)
Rajendra Nagar Terminus (Patna)-New Tinsukia Express (weekly) via Katihar/ Guwahati
Tirupati-Puducherry Express (weekly)
Tirupati-Bhubaneswar Express (weekly) via Visakhapatnam
Una / NangaJdam-Hazoor Saheb Nanded Express (weekly) via Anandpur Saheb, Morinda, Chandigarh, Ambala
Visakhapatnam-Jodhpur Express (weekly) via Titlagarh, Raipur
Visakhapatnam-Kollam Express (weekly)
Yesvantpur-Lucknow Express (weekly) via Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh

Passenger trains

Bathinda-Dhuri Passenger (daily)
Bikaner-Ratangarh Passenger (daily)
Bhavnagar-Palitana Passenger (daily)
Bhavnagar-Surendranagar Passenger (daily)
Bareilly-Lalkuan Passenger (daily)
Chhapra-Thawe Passenger (dily)
Loharu-Sikar Passenger (daily) after gauge conversion
Madgaon-Ratnagiri Passenger (daily)
Marikuppam-Bangalore Passenger (daily)
Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi Passenger (daily) via Runnisaidpur
Nadiad-Modasa Passenger (6 days a week)
Nandyal-Kurnool Town Passenger (daily)
New Amravati-Narkher Passenger (daily)
Punalur-Kollam Passenger (daily)
Purna-Parli Vaijnath Passenger (daily)
Palani-Tiruchendur Passenger (daily)
Ratangarh-Sardarsahar Passenger (daily) after gauge conversion
Samastipur-Banmankhi Passenger via Saharsa, Madhepura (daily) after gauge conversion
Shoranur-Kozhikode Passenger (daily)
Surendranagar-Dharangdhara Passenger (daily)
Suratgarh-Anupgarh Passenger (daily)
Somnath-Rajkot Passenger (daily)
Sitamarhi-Raxaul Passenger (daily)
Sriganganagar-Hanumangarh-Sadulpur Passenger (daily) after gauge conversion
Talguppa-Shimoga Town Passenger (daily)
Thrisur-Guruvayur Passenger (daily)