Saturday, February 26, 2011

RAIL BUDGET: NO HIKE IN PASSENGER FARES; FREIGHT RATES

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New Delhi: In line with expectations, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday presented a populist Rail Budget 2011-12. Over 100 new trains have been announced while passenger fares as well as freight rates have been kept unchanged.

Also, in a move to attract passengers from higher strata of the society, Mamata announced that the Railways will introduce new Super AC class of travel beginning this year.

She further proposed a reduction in e-ticket booking rates by Rs 10 for AC class and Rs 5 for non-AC class.

The Railway Minister told Lok Sabha, while presenting her third Rail Budget, that the age for concession under senior citizen category for women is being reduced from 60 years to 58 years, while male senior citizens will get additional 10% concession over and above the existing 30%.

Mamata told Parliament that this year’s Rail Budget has a strong economic focus as well as social inclusion, with human face. The main focus is on common man, she added.

The minister emphasized that passenger safety will be among top priorities. According to her, anti-collision devices will be installed in three more zones. She also stated that the Railways will build 172 rail-over-bridges (ROBs) and 240 Rail Under Bridges (RUBs) this fiscal.

In an important announcement, considering the increasing incidences of sabotage and ‘rail-rokos’, Mamata proposed to grant two new projects and two new trains each for states where trains run “trouble-free”.

Mamata said 1,500 trains were cancelled while 3,500 others were re-scheduled last year due to protests and other reasons.
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