Rail Budget LIVE Updates: Soon, Indian railways passengers will be able to travel in trains that are manufactured with private sector world-class technology! With a strong emphasis on need for private investment in Indian Railways, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Railway Budget 2019 speech spoke of unleashing the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) for faster development of railway infrastructure including rolling stock. FM Sitharaman also stressed on how the Dedicated Freight Corridors will decongest the railway network for faster movement of trains. She also said that Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) will be encouraged for the suburban railway network development. The need for private sector investment arises since Indian Railways needs Rs 50 lakh crore investment till 2030. If the investment is not expedited the project execution would be delayed, aa scenario the Modi government wants to avoid.
She also said that development of inland waterways will help in reducing pressure on Indian Railways. Sitharaman pointed to the need for Rs 50 lakh crore investment in Indian Railways till 2030, hence stating that the private sector would be needed to speed up projects.
Indian Railways passengers can look forward to faster, more punctual and most importantly safer trains with Railway Budget 2019 expected to focus on safety and modernisation of railway infrastructure. As India enters the era of semi-high speed train travel with modern world-class train sets, it is important for Indian Railways to upgrade its old and ageing infrastructure. This would enable the modern trains by Indian Railways to attain their speed potential. Indian Railways is also chalking out an ambitious plan to eliminate all manned level crossings in the coming years, with an eye on safety.
Railway Budget 2019 Live speech will be tracked by Financial Express Online to bring you the latest updates about Rail Budget 2019. Since 2017, Railway Budget has been merged with the Union Budget, ending a 92-year old practice. The Economic Survey 2019, tabled in Parliament yesterday, has said that the national transporter has made commendable progress.
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In the Interim Railway Budget 2019, the then Finance Minister Piyush Goyal had announced a capital outlay of Rs 64,587 crore for Indian Railways. The operating ratio of the national transporter was 96.2% in the last financial year and the target for the ongoing financial year has been kept lower still. The operating ratio is a key indicator of the financial health of Indian Railways since it points to what railways earns for every Rs 100 spent. Railway Budget 2019 is also expected to highlight the Indian Railways ongoing station redevelopment drive, under which several railway stations are being converted to world-class transport hubs. The Railway Board has also drawn up a mammoth 100-day roadmap for reforms in the Indian Railways, which may find mention in the Railway Budget 2019 speech.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman's Budget 2019 speech saw sporadic but important mentions for Indian Railways - the biggest takeaway being the encouragement for private sector.
Indian Railways is already developing world-class railway stations which will serve as multi-modal transport hubs. IRSDC is currently developing the Habibganj station in Madhya Pradesh and Gandhi Nagar station in Gujarat. With a tie-up and investment from France, the Indian Railways station redevelopment programme will be expedited.
Days ahead of Railway Budget 2019, Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways tied up with France for creating world-class stations on the Indian Railways network. Under the agreement with France, the country will provide 7 lakh euros for the big infrastructure project.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that not only will PPPs be encouraged in the railway sector, but SPV structures will be eyes for development of India's first Rapid Regional Transport System (RRTS).
Railway Budget 2019 did not announce any change in train fares, along expected lines. A railway fare hike is a politically sensitive issue and it was unlikely that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would announce a hike in railway fares.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a massive railway station redevelopment programme will be launched by Indian Railways this year. This announcement in continuation to the station beautification drive that the railway is carrying out under Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
Indian Railways will be encouraged to use SPVs or Special Purpose Vehicles for suburban projects, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She again highlighted how dedicated freight corridors will decongest the Indian Railways network.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman has emphasised that the Narendra Modi government has invested in a big way to develop physical infrastructure - railways, highways and waterways.
Railway Budget 2019 focused on suburban network development and the Rapid Rail Transit Corridor project
Indian Railways is focusing on green energy, with not just electrification, but also electric locomotives that are being assembled and manufactured under the 'Make in India' initiative. Recently, a diesel locomotive was converetd into an electric locomotive for this purpose.
PPP model focus for Indian Railways during the Railway Budget 2019 speech points to the fact that the national transporter is hoping to manufacture under 'Make in India' world-class trains with the help of transfer of technology.
Faster trains are not only a function of the rolling stock but also railway infrastructures like tracks and signalling. India is looking to adopt the European signalling infrastructure for safer yet faster movement of passenger trains. READ STORY
Railway Budget 2019 speech by FM Nirmala Sitharaman highlights the need for investments on a large-scale in Indian Railways. Recognising that the government cannot increase the outlays substantially, the Railway Budget speech points to encouraging the private sector to participate in railway infrastructure redevelopment via the PPP model
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that 657 kilometres of metro rail network have become operational.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman as part of her Railway Budget 2019 speech said that the Public Private Partnership model will be unleashed in Indian Railways for faster development, rolling stock manufacturing and also delivery of freight.
According to FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Railways requires Rs 50 lakh crore between 2018 to 2030 to complete the sanctioned projects.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that inland waterways will be extensively developed so that the Indian Railways network can also be decongested.
Railway Budget 2019 will see continous focus on safety to avoid train accidents and untoward incidents. Also, installation of CCTVs on stations and in trains is likely to feature in the Railway Budget 2019 speech.
DFCs will mitigate the congestion of the railway network, benefiting the common man, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. DFCs are an important and big-ticket railway project that will improve freight movement.
Manufactured under Rs 100 crore, the 'Make in India' Vande Bharat Express or Train 18 has emerged as a flagship offering for Indian Railways. Railway Budget 2019 is expected to not only highlight this achievement, but also announce plans for manufacturing more such train sets.
According to Economic Survey 2019, there has been an increase of 2.09% in the number of passengers carried by Indian Railways in FY18.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2019 speech has said that the $5 trillion dream is within reach for India. This dream, we feel, is possible only if Indian Railways is upgraded to act as a key enabler for economic progress.
Ahead of Railway Budget 2019, the Economic Survey 2019 highlighted Indian Railways endeavour to rank railway stations on a cleanliness scale, hence ensuring that passengers enjoy a cleaner ambience. The Survey also highlighted that stations are increasingly becoming environment-friendly and competing on getting a "Green" rating.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has started her Budget 2019 speech. The Railway Budget 2019 speech will be a part of the main Budget speech.
Railway Budget 2019 may not have any announcements on the introduction of new trains. That practice was done away with in Railway Budget 2016 by then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. While Prabhu had announced the intent to introduce branded trains, no new routes were announced. This came as a welcome change given the fact that most of the mainlines are already choked
Railway Budget 2019 may also mention India's first bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The bullet train project has been facing land acquisition hurdles. The project, a pet PM Modi initiative, is scheduled to be complete by 2023 and will reduce the travel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to 2 hours!
Indian Railways may rope in private sector for trains on the Delhi-Lucknow, Mumbai-Shirdi routes. The routes mentioned are under consideration as part of Indian Railways big 100-day roadmap for the national transporter.
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Railway Budget 2019 speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to begin shortly as part of the main Union Budget 2019 speech. The Railway Budget 2019 speech will likely talk about the new era of railway travel that the national transporter is aiming at along with continued focus on rail safety.
Indian Railways has decided to redevelop 22 stations to world-standards and Bandra Terminus, Kolkata, Kanpur are among those on the list. The Indian Railway Station Development Corporation has been entrusted with this responsibility, with focus on upgrading stations to offer airport-like amenities.
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Railway Budget 2019 may outline Indian Railways plan to invite the private sector to run select trains on tourist routes. As part of the 100-day plan, two rakes will be given to IRCTC. The idea is to offer more premium experience to train travellers
The Railway Budget 2019 may also focus on upgradation of premium trains such as Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express. Indian Railways has recently managed to get rid of the jolts and swaying that the passengers of these trains have to bear with while travelling. This has been done by equipping a new version of the Centre Buffer Couplers (CBC), the equipment that is used to attach the coaches of a train. By April this year, the national transporter managed to retrofit over 5,000 LHB coaches, including 42 rakes of Rajdhani Express. Due to the unstable nature of couplers, passengers faced various issues like spilling of teacups, losing balance while walking in the train aisles, etc. The old couplers also posed a safety issue. Read story
As Indian Railways is looking forward to corporatize all of its seven production units under one entity- Indian Railway Rolling Stock Company, Railway Budget 2019 is likely to talk about this plan. The main objective to put all the production units of railways under one entity is to drive technology partnership and modernisation for world-class train coaches and locomotives production. The proposal is also a part of Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry's 100 day roadmap for Indian Railways. Read story here
The Railway Budget 2019 may mention the reduction of travel time across several major Indian Railways' routes! Two crucial routes- Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai are set for an upgradation in the coming years, with speeds being raised up to 160 kmph. As per the railways' 100-day roadmap, the train travel time on some of the major routes including Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai are likely to come down by 5 hours. The national transporter is expecting an investment of around Rs 14,000 crore for this project. If the upgradation of these routes are completed on time, then the travel time between New Delhi-Howrah will come down to 12 hours from the existing 17 hours, while the travel time between New Delhi-Mumbai will come down to as low as 10 hours from the existing 15.5 hours. Read full story here
Vande Bharat Express, introduced between Delhi and Varanasi, is a big success story of 'Make in India' for Indian Railways. With several new aircraft-like features, Train 18 has several firsts for Indian Railways passengers. Watch this video to know more
Railway Budget 2019 speech by then FM Piyush Goyal in February had pointed to the important fact that by January 31, 2019 all unmanned level crossings on the Indian Railways network were eliminated. This was a very important safety measure by the national transporter since it aims to prevent railway accidents due to trespassing on railway tracks.
Railway Budget 2019 is likely to announce that in the coming years all manned level crossings on the Indian Railways network will be eliminated. This is an ambitious yet extremely important measure by the Indian Railways as it will pave way for safer railway travel and speeding up of trains.
As part of its 100-day plan, Indian Railways has drawn up a road map for rationalising railway fares. The idea is to extend the success of the "Give It Up" scheme for senior citizens, to get railway passengers to voluntarily give up the subsidised part of their railway ticket fare. Read full story here
Indian Railways has been facing stiff competition from both the roadways and the aviation sector. With railway fares rising dynamically, people are opting for less time-consuming air travel. The introduction of the UDAN scheme has also added to Indian Railways woes, with short-distance travel becoming more affordable. In this scenario, faster trains that offer better passenger amenities and comfort and above all are punctual are the need of the hour.
From safety and security, to modernisation of railway infrastructure, Railway Budget 2019 will stress on revamping travel experience for Indian Railways passengers. See full story here
Railway Budget 2019 is likely to talk about how provision of free high-speed WiFi has been a big boon for not just railway passengers, but also railway staff on platforms and people in nearby areas. Part of PM Modi's Digital India dream, the Indian Railways stations are increasingly being equipped with free high-speed WiFi facility by RailTel. The government has promised that by 2022, all major stations will have WiFi facility.