Railway Budget 2012

[Vishwarupa]

NEW DELHI: The Rail Budget to be presented tomorrow may continue with the practice of not raising the fares and freight rates but the possibility of imposition of a safety cess may not not be ruled out, at least on the higher class fares.

As Trinamool Congress leader and Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi rises to present his maiden budget he is expected to carry on with the practice of not not tinkering with the second class fares like his predecessors, including Mamata Banerjee, over most part of the last decade.

There is speculation that the budget could bring in a safety cess following a recommendation by the Kakodkar Committee report which went into issues relating to safety over the huge railway network.

The Committee had suggested a cess to realise money to the tune of Rs. 5,000 crore, to fund projects especially for safety upgradation of signalling and telecommunication systems.

Budget at ET: Budget 2012 | Union Budget | Railway Budget 2012 | Budget News | Economic Survey 2012


As he does the tight ropewalk, Trivedi may also introduce a mechanism to provide cushion for meeting costs on account of any spike in fuel prices. There is a suggestion for introducing a fuel adjustment component (FAC) in the basic fare to insulate railways from fuel price hike.

Railways shell out Rs 19,000 cr as part of its fuel expenditure to run its huge fleet of diesel locomotives adding to the total expenditure placed at Rs 70,000 cr in the current financial year.

Indications are that the Railways have got only Rs 25,000 cr as gross budgetary support from government despite its demand of Rs 50,000 cr to tide over its financial crisis. Railways had got Rs 20,000 cr as GBS in the current fiscal.

Trivedi could also spell out plans for internal generation of fund from additional resources like commercialisation of stations.

 

[Blackwater]

What ever will be the railway budget. The service of Indian railway will remain pathetic

 

[Ray]

If I am not mistaken Trivedi has indicated that there has to be a rise in the fare.

 

[thakur_ritesh]

If indeed TMC is looking at mid term polls, then it remains highly unlikely that there will be a hike in the passenger rail fares, though the AC class could be an exception. If not, and there is a fare hike for sleeper class and general, then TMC is not looking at mid term polls.

What ever will be the railway budget. The service of Indian railway will remain pathetic

If you listen to trivedi, he makes a lot of sense. Problem is, railways has always been seen as a political tool by which ever party got the ministry and it has been allowed to bleed, and each time to sustain themselves they have looked at bailouts either by looking at the central government for handouts or through bonds which has only increased the debt of the railways, and with the way the deficit is ever increasing their bonds also remain high risk because one can never be sure if they default on them. IR is a case study of a financial mess.

One has to understand, in a highly unionised and politicised organization, even the most moderate of the ideas, let alone the most sensible, can rarely be implemented, and so remains the story of IR. Trivedi talks about close to 100 or 200b usd (ie if I recall the fig correctly) just for modernization to be spent in the present decade, but where will all that money come from when there is no sustainable business model.

 

[pmaitra]

Possibility of fare hike remote = possibility of funds remote = possibility of maintenance remote = possibility of installation of security remote = possibility of accidents and death extreme = bad news!

 

[pmaitra]

Not all people are mindless. Some do have some sense:

Even unions speak the unspeakable: need to hike railway fares

And this is not exactly fresh news.

Excerpts:

Rationalisation of fares needs to be done. A train journey that costs Rs 5 would cost Rs 60 by bus.

Concessions are leading to annual losses of Rs 15,000 crore. Passenger fares have not been revised in the past eight rail budgets.

 

[pmaitra]

Very old problem, the problem of not raising the fares, since the last 8 years I hear - and a very old news article too:

There's no such thing as a free ride

India's call centres, software firms and drugmakers are booming. But much of the rest of the country's economy remains mired in bureaucratic and ideological constraints. To gauge the difficulties of putting India's economic reforms on track, consider its railways, once the vanguard of modernisation

...

 

[Blackwater]

If indeed TMC is looking at mid term polls, then it remains highly unlikely that there will be a hike in the passenger rail fares, though the AC class could be an exception. If not, and there is a fare hike for sleeper class and general, then TMC is not looking at mid term polls.



If you listen to trivedi, he makes a lot of sense. Problem is, railways has always been seen as a political tool by which ever party got the ministry and it has been allowed to bleed, and each time to sustain themselves they have looked at bailouts either by looking at the central government for handouts or through bonds which has only increased the debt of the railways, and with the way the deficit is ever increasing their bonds also remain high risk because one can never be sure if they default on them. IR is a case study of a financial mess.

One has to understand, in a highly unionised and politicised organization, even the most moderate of the ideas, let alone the most sensible, can rarely be implemented, and so remains the story of IR. Trivedi talks about close to 100 or 200b usd (ie if I recall the fig correctly) just for modernization to be spent in the present decade, but where will all that money come from when there is no sustainable business model.

Thakur with due respect.u know and i know nothing will change. what ever budget is allocated for railways, the condition of railaway and and its service will remain pathetic

Not to mention toilets with the hole lollllllllllllll( which might lead to crossion of tracks cost 350 cr a year)

 

[ejazr]

Pleasantly surprised by the TMC minister going ahead with the passenger fare hikes. This will be the first fare hike in 10 years and although still quite small, It would have been better if a bigger hike was done this year and nominal hikes later going into general elections. LEts just hope that fare cuts are not announced in subsequent budgets and the trend holds.

Railway Budget 2012: First fare hike in 10 years - Business - Budget 2012 - ibnlive

 

[Vishwarupa]

Not to mention toilets with the hole lollllllllllllll( which might lead to crossion of tracks cost 350 cr a year)

Rail Budget 2012-13: Green toilets to be installed in 2,500 coaches - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Corrosion from night soil being discharged from toilets on tracks costs Rs 350 crore annually; Dinesh Trivedi, Union Railway Minister said while presenting the Railway Budget in Lok Sabha. He said green toilets will be installed in 2,500 coaches in the next one year.

Trivedi said, "Standard of hygiene needs to be improved substantially; all out efforts will be made on this in the next six months."



He said the Railways was duty bound to provide high standard of services and the it would set up special housekeeping body for stations and trains.

Manufacturing of bio-toilets is part of the green initiatives being undertaken by the nation's largest transporter to improve the cleanliness in rail premises.

Estimated to cost about Rs one lakh per bio-toilet, these new age toilets will be manufactured at Kapurthala coach factory and fitted in long-route trains.

The anaerobic bacteria inside the toilets consume waste material and convert it into water and gas in the bio-toilet system. The water passing through chlorine tank is discharged as clean water and the gas generated evaporates into the atmosphere.

Railways had joined hands with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for development of bio-toilets.

 

[anoop_mig25]

TMC really needs coaching how to run party , they are refusing to endrose the railway budget presented by their own men. so much cry of poor people i mean this hue cry has prevented poor people from evaluating themself

by the way budget was borning nothing but fare hike which i allthough support

 

[Ray]

I am sure that if with a raise in fares, if the service provided is good, I wonder if anyone will complain.

What is most appalling is the state of the toilets. I agree that most have no idea or desire to maintain community hygiene, but then a safaiwalla on board does make a difference as in Durontos.

Each train should have a pantry car since there are routes which are back of nowhere and the passengers are famished since the stations too have nothing to offer as in the routes in MP!

Interestingly, in some trains the AC can only operate full blast or not operate at all. There is no provisions for temperature control!

 

[anoop_mig25]

i cannot understand why various parties of indian remains cut-off from common people . take eg of TMC i know from personal experience that present generation as well as some older generation are ready to spell out few bucks in lieu of facilities specially ac coaches but still parties continue with their poor people mindset.

 

[SLASH]

The fare hike is still nominal when you take into account that there has been no hike for past 8 years. This is a healthy hike and should be continued for every year. Very unlikely as I expect a populist rail budget next year.

It is a good budget for Mumbai suburban rail. Train with 9 coaches to be extended to 12 and ones with 12 to be extended to 15. He also talk about running AC trains on Mumbai western line. We heard it before in Mumbai but nothing has happened. Unless the number of people travelling per coach is not reduced AC train is just a pipe dream.

I don't think there was any mention of elevated rail corridor above the existing line from Churchagate to Virar, even though the administration in Mumbai is gung-ho about it.

Heard in Headlines Today that over 15000 people die crossing railways tracks every year. For this Mr. Trivedi has proposed to stop all the rail crossings in a phased manner. I think they will either use flyovers or an underway. Underways seems more likely.

 

[anoop_mig25]

this orchestrated drama by TMC has resulted in discussion of railway minister resignation and blah blah ...... instead of discussing railway ministers

 

[thakur_ritesh]

Thakur with due respect.u know and i know nothing will change. what ever budget is allocated for railways, the condition of railaway and and its service will remain pathetic

Not to mention toilets with the hole lollllllllllllll( which might lead to crossion of tracks cost 350 cr a year)

Blackwater,

I understand your anguish and lack of trust, because I have shared the same, and possibly what you are saying will remain the case, but for the betterment of the country and the IR in particular, let us hope otherwise.

Just as we are discussing this, the minister concerned is being asked to resign by his party chief, Mamta Banerjee, because the poor chap did the most sensible thing, which is hike the fares from as little as 2 paise to 30 paise per km, which should roughly translate to rs20 to rs300 per 1,000kms. Now if a minister is not even allowed this meagre a liberty, how is it that the IR can survive, let alone stand on its own feet, and modernize.

Unfortunately if trivedi does resign, he will be the most sensible minister asked to resign that IR has had in the last decade, which included nitish, paswan, lalu and mamta. One has to listen to him to know the ideas the man has, a rare commodity indeed.

I tend to differ on nothing can change, and will remain the same always. Our roads could be a case study, the country itself can be a case study on pre and post 1991, so hope remains.

About the loos, I am not aware about the situation now, but back in '04-'05, I used to regularly use the lucknow shatabdi and it had loos similar to ones in the aeroplanes, and I believe now the same has been standardised in all of the shatabdi trains, possibly in the new rajdhani as well.

 

[anoop_mig25]

well anybody here agreed or not lalu was master in presenting budget . he would give from one hand and then take more form other hand

 

[nrj]

Don't mind losing my job, says Trivedi after Mamata rejects rail fare hike

We will not accept rail fare hike: Mamata

I can't guarantee safety if I don't have money: Trivedi

 

[Tolaha]

Listening to Rajdeep interviewing Lalu on CNN. Hilarious!

 

[nrj]

Listening to Rajdeep interviewing Lalu on CNN. Hilarious!

Watch Headlines Today's Rahul Kanwal interviewing Trivedi. He busted Lalu's point of generating revenue by other means.