The Railway Budget on Thursday spared passengers from a fare hike and instead sought to leverage the Modi government’s pet themes of cleanliness and digital revolution.

Rail minister Suresh Prabhu proposed a ‘cleanliness department’ as part of the ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat’ motto, linking the drive to the government’s flagship ‘national cleanliness mission’. He requested corporates and MPs to invest in passenger amenities via CSR and MPLAD funds, respectively.

Also proposed was a ‘railway display network’ at over 2,000 stations for comprehensive train information and promoting the ‘Digital India campaign’, besides unlocking ad revenue potential. Wi-Fi facilities will be extended to more stations as part of ‘Digital India’.

These were among the 11 thrust areas for better journey quality. It also included superior bed linen, a helpline to address passengers’ problems and security related complaints, besides ‘Operation Five Minutes’, which will ensure purchase of an unreserved ticket within five minutes. The budget extended the advance booking window for tickets from 60 to 120 days to curb the menace of touts.

Other highlights were surveillance cameras in suburban and select mainline coaches for women’s safety, besides e-booking of meal of choice and onboard entertainment on select Shatabdis.

Of the Rs 8.56-lakh-crore investment proposed over five years, Rs 12,500 crore will go towards passenger amenities and Rs 1 lakh crore towards station redevelopment and logistic parks. Prabhu sought to increase the daily passenger capacity from 21 million to 30 million in five years. To ensure more confirmed seats, he said, “Capacity in identified trains will be augmented to 26 coaches from 24. More ‘general class’ coaches will be added in identified trains.”

The railways will build new toilets at 650 more stations. “We have replaced existing toilets in coaches with 17,388 bio-toilets. This year, we will replace another 17,000 toilets,” Prabhu said. He proposed Rs 120 crore for lifts and escalators at major stations, adding that Braille-enabled coaches will also be manufactured.