Feb 25 India’s state-owned railways is reviewing the tariff structure for its freight business and wants to expand the basket of commodities it transports to boost revenues, the railway minister said on Thursday.
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For Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, the Budget for 2016-17 on Thursday could well prove his toughest hour.
As passenger fares was not hiked in the last budget and railway finances have come under tremendous strain, the minister faces a dilemma whether to raise fares and freight rates.
Cleanliness, drinking water supply, easier ticketing, security on trains and catering are likely to get priority to improve passenger amenities. And in July 2014 the hikes amounted to 15 percent in passenger fares and 6.5 percent in freight.
Holding banners and posters, they appealed to the Minister to make necessary provisions to safeguard the lives of almost eight million passengers travelling daily in suburban trains. Losses from heavy subsidisation of coaching services on account of social service obligation have ballooned to more than Rs 30,000 crore and the railways have failed to meet their freight and passenger revenue targets.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex fell below 23,000-mark minutes after Prabhu kicked off Budget speech.
Additionally, a huge move towards safety, upgradation and modernization of the existing rails, engines and yards are also on the cards.
Suresh Prabhu also seems to be looking at upscaling the present railway services in the country.
Aiming at shifting goods from road to rail, the budget will offer various schemes to attract loadings.
“People have high expectations from the Railway Budget this year”, Prabhu told reporters here while leaving for budget presentation in the parliament.
All 400 stations being planned to be developed with private participation are likely to be announced as “green stations” with several environment-friendly measures like generation of solar energy, recycling of water, conversion of waste to energy and use of LED lights to be incorporated in the plan. E-catering would be provided, along with a range of branded foods.
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The Rail Budget will announce the introduction of AC suburban trains in Mumbai, which will also be replicated in other areas.
