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Indian Railways

Type Departmental Undertaking of The Ministry of Railways, Government of India

Founded 26 April 1853, nationalized in 1951

Headquarters New Delhi, India

Area served India

Key people Union Railway Minister:

Laloo Prasad Yadav

Minister of State for Railways (V):

R. Velu

Minister of State for Railways (R):

Naranbhai J. Rathwa

Chairman, Railway Board:

K C Jena.

Industry Railways and Locomotives

Products Rail transport, cargo transport, services

Revenue ▲ INR Rs 72,655 Crores (2008) (~18.16B USD )[1]

Employees 1,406,430 (as on March 31, 2007)[2]

Parent Ministry of Railways, Government of India

Divisions 16 Railway Zones (excluding Konkan Railway)

Website www.indianrailways.gov.in

Indian Railways (Hindi: भा�रती�य र�ल Bhāratīya Rail), abbreviated as IR (भा�र�), is the state-owned railway company of India, which owns and operates most of the country's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India.

Indian railways has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting over 17 million passengers and more than 2 million tonnes of freight daily.[3][4] It is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.4 million employees.[5][3]

The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country, covering 6,909 stations over

a total route length of more than 63,327 kilometres (39,350 mi). IR owns over 200,000 wagons, 50,000 coaches and 8,000 locomotives of rolling stock.[3]

Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's independence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network of broad, metre and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities.

Contents

[hide] 1 History 2 Organisational structure

o 2.1 Railway zones o 2.2 Railway production units o 2.3 Railway PSU's

3 Passenger services o 3.1 Suburban rail o 3.2 Notable trains and achievements

4 Freight 5 Rail budget and finances 6 Current issues and upgrades 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References

10 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of rail transport in India

A plan for a rail system in India was first put forward in 1832, but no further steps were taken for more than a decade. In 1844, the Governor-General of India Lord Hardinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India. The East India Company (and later the British Government) encouraged new railway companies backed by private investors under a scheme that would provide land and guarantee an annual return of upto five percent during the initial years of operation. The companies were to build and operate the lines under a 99 year lease, with the government having the option to buy them earlier.[6]

Two new railway companies, Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) and East Indian Railway (EIR), were created in 1853-54 to construct and operate two 'experimental' lines near Bombay and Calcutta respectively.[6] The first train in India had become operational

on 22 December 1851 for localised hauling of canal construction material in Roorkee.[7] A year and a half later, on 16 April 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder in Bombay and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 kilometres (21 mi), it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan.[8]

Extent of Great Indian Peninsular Railway network in 1870. The GIPR was one of the largest rail companies at that time.

In 1854 Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India, formulated a plan to construct a network of trunk lines connecting the principal regions of India. Encouraged by the government guarantees, investment flowed in and a series of new rail companies were established, leading to rapid expansion of the rail system in India.[9] Soon various native states built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The route mileage of this network increased from 1,349 kilometres (838 mi) in 1860 to 25,495 kilometres (15,842 mi) in 1880 - mostly radiating inland from the three major port cities of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta.[10] By 1895, India had started building its own locomotives, and in 1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railway.[citation needed]

At the beginning of the twentieth century India had a multitude of rail services with diverse ownership and management, operating on broad, metre and narrow gauge networks.[11] In 1900 the government took over the GIPR network, while the company continued to manage it. With the arrival of the First World War, the railways were used to to transport troops and foodgrains to the port city of Bombay and Karachi en route to UK, Mesopotamia, East Africa etc. By the end of the First World War, the railways had suffered immensely and were in a poor state.[12] In 1923, both GIPR and EIR were nationalized with the state assuming both ownership and management control.[11]

The Second World War severely crippled the railways as rolling stock was diverted to the Middle East, and the railway workshops were converted into munitions workshops.[13] At the time of independence in 1947, about 40 per cent of the railways then went to newly-created nation of Pakistan.[citation needed] A total of forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states, were amalgamated as a single unit which was christened as the Indian Railways. The existing rail networks

were abandoned in favour of zones in 1951 and a total of six zones came into being in 1952.[11]

As the economy of India improved, almost all railway production units were 'indigenised' (produced in India). By 1985, steam locomotives were phased out in favour of diesel and electric locomotives. The entire railway reservation system was streamlined with computerisation between 1987 and 1995.

[edit] Organisational structure

The headquarters of the Indian Railways in Delhi

Indian Railways is a department owned and controlled by the Government of India, via the Ministry of Railways rather than a private company. As of 2008, the Railway Ministry is headed by Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Union Minister for Railways and assisted by two Ministers of State for Railways, R. Velu and Naranbhai J. Rathwa. Indian Railways is administered by the Railway Board, which has six members and a chairman.

[edit] Railway zones

Indian Railways is divided into zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952, and finally 16 in 2002-03. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-seven divisions.[11][14]

A schematic map of the Indian Railways network, showing the various zones.

Sl. Name   Abbr.   Date Headquarters   Divisions  

No   Established  

1. Central CRNovember 5, 1951

MumbaiMumbai, Bhusawal, Pune, Solapur, Nagpur

2.East Central

ECR October 1, 2002 HajipurDanapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur, Sonpur

3. East Coast ECoR April 1, 2003 BhubaneswarKhurda Road, Sambalpur, Visakhapatnam

4. Eastern ER April, 1952 KolkataHowrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Malda

5.North Central

NCR April 1, 2003 Allahabad Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi

6.North Eastern

NER 1952 GorakhpurIzzatnagar, Lucknow, Varanasi

7.North Western

NWR October 1, 2002 JaipurJaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur

8.Northeast Frontier

NFR 1958 GuwahatiAlipurduar, Katihar, Lumding, Rangia, Tinsukia

9. Northern NR April 14, 1952 DelhiDelhi, Ambala, Firozpur, Lucknow, Moradabad

10.South Central

SCR October 2, 1966 Secunderabad

Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Guntakal, Guntur, Nanded, Vijayawada

11.South East Central

SECR April 1, 2003 Bilaspur, CG Bilaspur, Raipur, Nagpur

12.South Eastern

SER 1955 KolkataAdra, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi

13.South Western

SWR April 1, 2003 HubliHubli, Bangalore, Mysore

14. Southern SR April 14, 1951 Chennai

Chennai, Madurai, Palakkad, Salem, Tiruchchirapalli, Thiruvanathapuram

15.West Central

WCR April 1, 2003 Jabalpur Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota

16. Western WRNovember 5, 1951

MumbaiMumbai Central, Baroda, Ratlam, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar

The Calcutta Metro is owned and operated by Indian Railways, but is not a part of any of the zones. It is administratively considered to have the status of a zonal railway.[14]

Each of the sixteen zones, as well as the Calcutta Metro, is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal & telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations' administration.

[edit] Railway production units

A WAP5 locomotive

A diesel locomotive of Indian Railways powering Express train, that runs in Assam

The Indian Railways manufactures a lot of its rolling stock and heavy engineering components. This is largely due to historical reasons. As with most developing economies, the main reason is import substitution of expensive technology related products. This was relevant when the general state of the national engineering industry was immature.

Production Units, the manufacturing plants of the Indian Railways, are managed directly by the ministry. The General Managers of the PUs report to the Railway Board. The Production Units are:

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works , Chittaranjan Diesel Locomotive Works , Varanasi Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works , Patiala

Integral Coach Factory , Chennai Rail Coach Factory , Kapurthala Rail Wheel Factory , Bangalore

These six production units (PUs) are each headed by a General Manager (GM), who also reports directly to the Railway Board.

Other independent units of Indian Railways are:

Central Organization For Railway Electrification , Allahabad Central Organization For Modernization of Workshops , New Delhi

Important maintenance workshops on IR are:

Southern Railway Workshop , Tiruchirapalli Rail Spring Karkhana , Gwalior

Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), Bangalore is an organization unrelated to the Indian Railways, however it manufactures coaches for both the Indian Railways and the Delhi Metro system.

In addition to this the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), Metro Railway, Calcutta and construction organisation of NFR are also headed by a General Manager.

[edit] Railway PSU's

Apart from these zones and production units, a number of Public Sector Undertakings are under the administrative control of the ministry of railways. These units are:

1. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India 2. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation 3. Konkan Railway Corporation 4. Indian Railway Finance Corporation 5. Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation 6. Railtel Corporation of India  – Telecommunication Networks 7. RITES Ltd.  – Consulting Division of Indian Railways 8. IRCON International Ltd.  – Construction Division 9. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited 10. Container Corporation of India 11. Rail Land Development Authority is a statutory authority formed through an

amendment of the Railways' Act, 1989 for commercial development of vacant railway land/

12. Centre for Railway Information Systems is an autonomous organisation under the Railway Board, which is responsible for developing the major software required by Indian Railways.

[edit] Passenger services

A DMU Train

Indian Railways operates about 9,000 passenger trains and transports 18 million passengers daily across twenty-eight states and one union territory, Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) and . Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya are the only states not connected by rail. The passenger division is the most preferred form of long distance transport in most of the country. A standard passenger train consists of eighteen coaches, but some popular trains can have up to 24 coaches. Coaches are designed to accommodate anywhere from 18 to 81 passengers, but during the holiday seasons or when on busy routes, more passengers may travel in a coach. Most regular trains have coaches connected through vestibules. However, 'unreserved coaches' are not connected with the rest of the train via any vestibule.

Reservation against cancellation service is a provision for shared berth in case the travel ticket is not confirmed. It is a way of maximizing the number of wait-listed passengers to be accommodated in case of a cancellation.[15]

[edit] Suburban rail

The Delhi Metro railway

Mumbai's suburban trains handle 6.3 million commuters daily.[16]

Many cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. Currently, suburban networks operate in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata , Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow. Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow do not have dedicated suburban tracks but share the tracks with long distance trains. New Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai have their own metro networks, namely the New Delhi Metro, the Kolkata Metro,and the Chennai MRTS, with dedicated tracks mostly laid on a flyover.

Suburban trains that handle commuter traffic are mostly electric multiple units. They usually have nine coaches or sometimes twelve to handle rush hour traffic. One unit of an EMU train consists of one power car and two general coaches. Thus a nine coach EMU is made up of three units having one power car at each end and one at the middle. The rakes in Mumbai run on direct current, while those elsewhere use alternating current.[17] A standard coach is designed to accommodate 96 seated passengers, but the actual number of passengers can easily double or triple with standees during rush hour.

[edit] Notable trains and achievements

A train on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on IR — the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus [18] and the Mountain railways of India. The latter is not contiguous, but actually consists of three separate railway lines located in different parts of India:[19]

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge railway in West Bengal. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a metre gauge railway in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil

Nadu. The Kalka-Shimla Railway, a narrow gauge railway in the Shivalik mountains in

Himachal Pradesh.

The Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, frequently hauled by a steam locomotive, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. On the same lines, the Maharashtra government introduced the Deccan Odyssey covering various tourist destinations in Maharashtra and Goa, and was followed by the Government of Karnataka which introduced the Golden Chariot train connecting popular tourist destinations in Karnataka

and Goa. However, neither of them has been able to enjoy the popular success of the Palace on Wheels.

The Samjhauta Express is a train that runs between India and Pakistan. However, hostilities between the two nations in 2001 saw the line being closed. It was reopened when the hostilities subsided in 2004. Another train connecting Khokhrapar (Pakistan) and Munabao (India) is the Thar Express that restarted operations on February 18, 2006; it was earlier closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war. The Kalka Shimla Railway till recently featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kilometres.[20]

A Beyer Garrett 6594 Engine seen at the National Rail Museum

The Lifeline Express is a special train popularly known as the "Hospital-on-Wheels" which provides healthcare to the rural areas. This train has a carriage that serves as an operating room, a second one which serves as a storeroom and an additional two that serve as a patient ward. The train travels around the country, staying at a location for about two months before moving elsewhere.

Among the famous locomotives, the Fairy Queen is the oldest running locomotive on the mainline (though only for specials) in the world today, though the distinction of the oldest surviving locomotive that has recently seen service belongs to John Bull. Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1072 m (3,517 ft). The Ghum station along the Darjeeling Toy Train route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive.[21] The Mumbai–Pune Deccan Queen has the oldest running dining car in IR.

The Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3,745 km (2,327 miles) in about 74 hours and 55 minutes. The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93.7 mph) on the Faridabad–Agra section. The fastest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs.

[edit] Freight

A single line rail bridge

IR carries a huge variety of goods ranging from mineral ores, fertilizers and petrochemicals, agricultural produce, iron & steel, multimodal traffic and others. Ports and major urban areas have their own dedicated freight lines and yards. Many important freight stops have dedicated platforms and independent lines.

Indian Railways makes 70% of its revenues and most of its profits from the freight sector, and uses these profits to cross-subsidise the loss-making passenger sector. However, competition from trucks which offer cheaper rates has seen a decrease in freight traffic in recent years. Since the 1990s, Indian Railways has switched from small consignments to larger container movement which has helped speed up its operations. Most of its freight earnings come from such rakes carrying bulk goods such as coal, cement, food grains and iron ore.

Indian Railways also transports vehicles over long distances. Trucks that carry goods to a particular location are hauled back by trains saving the trucking company on unnecessary fuel expenses. Refrigerated vans are also available in many areas. The "Green Van" is a special type used to transport fresh food and vegetables. Recently Indian Railways introduced the special 'Container Rajdhani' or CONRAJ, for high priority freight. The highest speed notched up for a freight train is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) for a 4,700 metric tonne load.

Recent changes have sought to boost the earnings from freight. A privatization scheme was introduced recently to improve the performance of freight trains. Companies are being allowed to run their own container trains. The first length of an 11,000-kilometre (6,800 mi) freight corridor linking India's biggest cities has recently been approved. The railways has increased load limits for the system's 225,000 freight wagons by 11%, legalizing something that was already happening. Due to increase in manufacturing transport in India that was augmented by the increase in fuel cost, transportation by rail became advantageous financially. New measures such as speeding up the turnaround times have added some 24% to freight revenues.

[edit] Rail budget and finances

A sample ticket; fares on this largest computer system network are quite reasonable.

The Railway Budget deals with planned infrastructure expenditure on the railways as well as with the operating revenue and expenditure for the upcoming fiscal years, the public elements of which are usually the induction and improvement of existing trains and routes, planned investment in new and existing infrastructure elements, and the tariff for freight and passenger travel. The Parliament discusses the policies and allocations proposed in the budget. The budget needs to be passed by a simple majority in the Lok Sabha (Lower House). The comments of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) are non-binding. Indian Railways is subject to the same audit control as other government revenue and expenditures. Based on anticipated traffic and the projected tariff, requirement of resources for capital and revenue expenditure of railways is worked out. While the revenue expenditure is met entirely by railways itself, the shortfall in the capital (plan) expenditure is met partly from borrowings (raised by Indian Railway Finance Corporation) and the rest from Budgetary support from the Central Government. Indian Railways pays dividend to the Central Government for the capital invested by the Central Government.

As per the Separation Convention (on the recommendations of the Acworth Committee), 1924, the Railway Budget is presented to the Parliament by the Union Railway Minister, two days prior to the General Budget, usually around 26th February. Though the Railway Budget is separately presented to the Parliament, the figures relating to the receipt and expenditure of the Railways are also shown in the General Budget, since they are a part and parcel of the total receipts and expenditure of the Government of India. This document serves as a balance sheet of operations of the Railways during the previous year and lists out plans for expansion for the current year.

The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway Board, comprising the Chairman, the Financial Commissioner and other functional members of Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Staff departments.

Indian Railways, which a few years ago was operating at a loss, has, in recent years, been generating positive cash flows and been meeting its dividend obligations to the government. The railway reported a cash surplus of Rs 9000 cr in 2005, Rs 14000 cr in 2006, Rs 20,000 cr in 2007 and Rs.25,000 cr for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Its operating ratio improved to 76% while, in the last four years, its plan size increased from Rs. 13,000 cr to Rs. 30,000 cr. The proposed investment for the 2008-2009 fiscal year is Rs.

37,500 cr, 21% more than for the previous fiscal year.[1] Budget Estimates-2008 for Freight, Passenger, Sundry other Earnings and other Coaching Earnings have been kept at Rs. 52,700 cr, Rs 21,681 cr, Rs. 5,000 cr and Rs 2,420 cr respectively. Maintaining an overall double digit growth, Gross Traffic Earnings have been projected as Rs 81,801 cr.[1] Around 20% of the passenger revenue is earned from the upper class segments of the passenger segment (the air-conditioned classes).[22]

Current issues and upgrades

Although accidents such as derailment and collisions are less common in recent times, many are run over by trains, especially in crowded areas. Indian Railways have accepted the fact that given the size of operations, eliminating accidents is an unrealistic goal, and at best they can only minimize the accident rate. Human error is the primary cause, leading to 83% of all train accidents in India.[23] of mishaps. In the past, the Konkan Railway route has suffered from landslides in the monsoon season, causing fatal accidents.

Outdated communication, safety and signaling equipment, which used to contribute to failures in the system, is being updated with the latest technology. A number of train accidents happened on account of a system of manual signals between stations, so automated signaling is getting a boost at considerable expense. It is felt that this would be required given the gradual increase in train speeds and lengths, that would tend to make accidents more dangerous. In the latest instances of signaling control by means of interlinked stations, failure-detection circuits are provided for each track circuit and signal circuit with notification to the signal control centres in case of problems.[24] Though currently available only in a small subset of the overall IR system, anti-collision devices are to be extended to the entire system.[25] Aging colonial-era bridges and century-old tracks also require regular maintenance and upgrading.

In recent years Indian Railways has laid claim to a financial turnaround, with (unaudited) operating profits going up substantially.[26] Credit for this achievement has been claimed by current Indian Railway Minister, Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav, who asserts that he made significant improvements in the operating efficiency of goods traffic after he took over as Railway Minister in May 2004.[27]

The Sixth Pay Commission has been constituted in India to review the pay structure of Government employees, and its recommendations are expected by the end of 2008. Based on its recommendations, the salaries of all Railways officers and staff are expected to be revised with retrospective effect (w.e.f. January 1, 2006). If previous Pay Commissions are taken as an indicator, this revision could be 50%, thus having an impact on present and future Railway budgets.

Comparison of different gauges common in India with the standard one, which is not common in India

The Rajdhani Express and Shatabadi Express are the fastest trains of Indian Railways, though they face competition from low-cost airlines since they run at a maximum speed of only 150 kilometres per hour (93 mph).[28] At least five corridors are under consideration for the introduction of high speed bullet trains to India with expert assistance from France. It is estimated that to modernise Indian Rail and bring it up to international standards, would require over US$200 billion in new and upgrade investments.[29]

IR is in the process of upgrading stations, coaches, tracks, services, safety, and security.[30] Initially, various upgrade and overhaul work will be performed at more than fifty stations, some of it by private contract. All meter gauge lines in the country will be converted to broad gauge (see Project Unigauge). New LHB stainless steel coaches, manufactured in India, are due to be introduced on all Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains by 2011.[25] These coaches will enhance the safety and riding comfort of passengers besides having more carrying capacity, and in time will replace thousands of old model coaches throughout Indian Railways. More durable and conforming polyurethane paint is now being used to enhance the quality of rakes and significantly reduce the cost of repainting. Improved ventilation and illumination are part of the new scheme of things, along with the decision to install air brake systems on all coaches. New manufacturing units are being set up to produce state-of-the-art locomotives and coaches.[25] IR is also expanding its telemedicine network facilities to further give its employees in far-flung and remote areas access to specialized medicine.

Sanitation in trains and stations throughout the system is getting more attention with the introduction of eco-friendly, discharge-free, green (or bio-) toilets developed by IIT Kanpur. This costly makeover is expected to take up to. Updated eco-friendly refrigerant is being used in AC systems while fire detection systems will be installed on trains in a phased manner. New rodent-control and cleanliness procedures are working their way into the many zones of IR. Central Railway's 'Operation Saturday' is gradually making progress, station by station, in the cleanup of its Mumbai division.

                     Indian Rail Budget 2008-09     

 Highlights of Railway Budget 2008-09 Union Railway Minister Lalu Yadav presented the Railway Budget for 2008-09 in Parliament on Tuesday,   26th February 2008. Following are the highlights:

 Review of Performance : 2007-08 · Double digit growth in traffic earnings maintained in first nine months.· Growth in passenger earnings 14%.· Expected growth in goods earnings 14%.· Gross Traffic Revenues 16% higher than the previous year and 2% higher than the Budget Estimates.· Operating Ratio likely to improve from the budgeted 79.6 to 76.3 per cent – best in last four decades.· Return on Capital – an all time high of 21 per cent.· Cash Surplus before dividend expected to be a record Rs.25,000 cr.· Net Revenue expected at Rs. 18,416 cr and surplus after payment of dividend expected at Rs.13,534 cr. Budget Estimates 2008-09· Freight loading target: 850 million tones.· Revenues in Freight earnings to be Rs.52,700 cr;   Passenger earnings to be Rs.21,681 cr.· Gross Traffic Receipts to be Rs.81,901 cr – an increase of 12.6 per cent over RE.· Cash surplus before Dividend to be Rs.24,783 cr after making an ad-hoc provision of nearly Rs.5000 cr for   anticipated recommendations of the VI Central Pay Commission.Annual Plan 2008-09· The Annual Plan of Rs.37,500 cr is the largest ever Annual Plan so far.· Thrust areas include enhancement of high density network routes, improvement and expansion of traffic     facility and network, construction of flyovers, bypasses and upgradation of goods-sheds.· New Lines - Rs.1,730 cr, Gauge conversion -   Rs.2,489 cr, Electrification - Rs.626 cr, Metropolitan   Transport Projects - Rs.650 cr.· Track renewal - Rs.3,600 cr, Bridges - Rs. 600 cr,   Signal & Telecommunication works -Rs.1,520 cr, Road over/under bridges - Rs. 700 cr and manning of    unmanned level crossings - Rs.600 cr.· Passenger amenities - Rs. 852 cr, the highest so far.· Targets : New Lines - 350 kms, Gauge conversion - 2,150 kms, Doubling - 1000 kms.Passenger Services Trains· 10 new Garib Raths to be introduced.· 53 pairs of new trains.· Extension of trains : 16 pairs.· Increase in frequency : 11 pairs.

· 300 additional services in Mumbai suburban.· Special train from Anandpur Sahib and Patna Sahib to Gurudwara Sachkhand Sahib during tercentenary    function of Shri Guru Granth Sahib of Gurta Gaddi.· Special train between Pune and Delhi for Commonwealth Youth Games being held in Pune from   12th-18th October this year.Amenities· Provision of on-line coach indication display board; on-line train arrival departure information board; on-line   reservation availability information board.· Provision of discharge-free green toilets in all 36,000 coaches in XI Plan period at a cost of about    Rs.4,000 cr.· LHB design coaches for all Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains over next few years.· Provision of LHB coaches with stainless steel bogies in Mail/Express trains.Concessions· Senior citizen concession for women enhanced to 50% from existing 30%.· Free Monthly Seasonal Ticket to girl students up to graduation level in place of 12th standard and for     boys up to 12th standard in place of 10th standard.Improvements in ticketing  Termination of queues at ticket counters targeted in two years.· Ticket booking on mobile phones; E-ticket for waitlisted passengers.· Increase in Unreserved Ticketing Systems counters to 15,000 and ATVMs to 6000.Reduction in passenger fares· One rupee discount per passenger for fares up to Rs.50 in non suburban Second Class (ordinary and    mail/express)· 5% discount across the board for passenger fares beyond Rs.50 for all non suburban Second Class      (ordinary and mail/express).· Increase in discount for travel in new design high capacity reserved coaches.· Reduction in fare – AC-I : 7%; and AC-II : 4% (the reduction will be half for popular trains and during peak   period).Freight Business Reductions & Concessions · 5% reduction in freight rates for Petrol and Diesel.· 14% reduction in freight rate of Fly-ash.· Liberalisation of Traditional Empty Flow direction incentive scheme- 30% discount on entire traffic in place of incremental traffic booked from goods shed.- Increase in discount on incremental traffic booked from private sidings from 30% to 40%.· 6% freight concession for traffic booked from other States for stations in North Eastern States.  New Initiatives· Target for loading fixed at 850 MT in 2008-09.· Blue - Print prepared for High Density Network.· Top priority being given to port rail connectivity projects.· New and dedicated iron ore routes to be upgraded/constructed.· Work on Eastern freight corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni (Kolkata) and Western freight corridor from    Delhi to JNPT to start in 2008-09. Procurement of Rolling Stock:   All time high of 20,000 wagons, 250 diesel and 220 electric locomotives to  be manufactured.· New Wagon Leasing Policy and Wagon Investment Scheme formulated to increase availability of 

  wagons  in the system.· Discounts for development of bulk and non-bulk goods terminals.Safety & Security · Multi-pronged scheme to strengthen railway safety through various automatic devices like anti-collision    device etc.· Rail accidents have reduced remarkably despite substantial increase in gross traffic volumes.· Fire resistant material to be used in coaches.· Unmanned level crossings at busy sections to be manned on a fast track basis.· Integrated security plan drawn up through installation of CCTVs, metal detectors etc.Welfare Measures Social Welfare· 99% backlog vacancies for SCs/STs filled up in special campaign launched since 2004.· Appointment of candidates from SCs/STs/OBCs exceeded their respective quotas in Group D    appointments.· Minorities welfare cells to be opened at Railway Board and Zonal Railways.· One time exercise of appointing Railway Porters as gangmen and to other Group D posts.· Mother-Child Health Express to be run on a pilot basis at concessional fares in collaboration with Rajiv    Gandhi Foundation for providing medical facilities to mother and child. Staff Welfare  Per-capita contribution to Staff Benefit Fund to be increased by ten times from Rs.35 to Rs.350 for    2008-09.· Northern Railway Central Hospital at Delhi to be made centrally air-conditioned.· Two divisional hospitals at Jaipur and Hubli to be upgraded to central hospitals.· A new divisional hospital at Ranchi and an OPD block at Integral Coach Factory to be constructed.· Employees who joined Railways from other agencies/PSUs etc and are eligible for pensionary benefits,   would now be eligible for post retirement complimentary passes as per the norms being set.Future Vision· Vision 2025 document aims at setting the roadmap for coming 17 years – customer centric and market    responsive strategic initiatives. · Information Technology Vision 2012 aims at radical changes in IT applications on a common platform    with focus on improvement in operational efficiency, transparency in working ad better services to the    customers.· Multi-Departmental Innovation Promotion Group at Apex Level.· Public-Private Partnership schemes to be launched for attracting an investment of Rs.1,00,000 cr over    the  next five years for developing world class stations, rolling stock ad other logistics.· Commercial use of Railway land by Rail Land Development Authority to give a boost to Railway    Revenues.Other Important Announcements· A new rail coach factory to be set up in Kerala.· A new wagon re-construction unit to be set up at Garkha in Chapra District.· Modernisation and development of Workshops at Jamalpur, Lilluah, Perambur and Ajmer.· Taking over of Mokama and Muzaffarpur wagon factories.· Setting up of a 1000 MW thermal power plant, a joint venture of Indian Rail Bijli Company Ltd. with   NTPC,  at Nabinagar District of Auragabad, Bihar.

Highlights of Railway Budget 2008-09 Union Railway Minister Lalu Yadav presented the Railway Budget for 2008-09 in Parliament on Tuesday, 26th February 2008. Following are the highlights of the Railway Budget: 

 

 Review of Performance : 2007-08 · Double digit growth in traffic earnings maintained in first nine months.· Growth in passenger earnings 14%.· Expected growth in goods earnings 14%.· Gross Traffic Revenues 16% higher than the previous year and 2% higher than the Budget Estimates.· Operating Ratio likely to improve from the budgeted 79.6 to 76.3 per cent – best in last four decades.· Return on Capital – an all time high of 21 per cent.· Cash Surplus before dividend expected to be a record Rs.25,000 cr.· Net Revenue expected at Rs. 18,416 cr and surplus after payment of dividend expected at Rs.13,534 cr.     Budget Estimates 2008-09· Freight loading target: 850 million tones.· Revenues in Freight earnings to be Rs.52,700 cr;   Passenger earnings to be Rs.21,681 cr.· Gross Traffic Receipts to be Rs.81,901 cr – an increase of 12.6 per cent over RE.· Cash surplus before Dividend to be Rs.24,783 cr after making an ad-hoc provision of nearly Rs.5000 cr for   anticipated recommendations of the VI Central Pay Commission.  Annual Plan 2008-09· The Annual Plan of Rs.37,500 cr is the largest ever Annual Plan so far.· Thrust areas include enhancement of high density network routes, improvement and expansion of traffic     facility and network, construction of flyovers, bypasses and upgradation of goods-sheds.· New Lines - Rs.1,730 cr, Gauge conversion -   Rs.2,489 cr, Electrification - Rs.626 cr, Metropolitan   Transport Projects - Rs.650 cr.· Track renewal - Rs.3,600 cr, Bridges - Rs. 600 cr,   Signal & Telecommunication works -Rs.1,520 cr, Road over/under bridges - Rs. 700 cr and manning of    unmanned level crossings - Rs.600 cr.· Passenger amenities - Rs. 852 cr, the highest so far.· Targets : New Lines - 350 kms, Gauge conversion - 2,150 kms, Doubling - 1000 kms.  Passenger Services   Trains· 10 new Garib Raths to be introduced.· 53 pairs of new trains.

· Extension of trains : 16 pairs.· Increase in frequency : 11 pairs.· 300 additional services in Mumbai suburban.· Special train from Anandpur Sahib and Patna Sahib to Gurudwara Sachkhand Sahib during tercentenary    function of Shri Guru Granth Sahib of Gurta Gaddi.· Special train between Pune and Delhi for Commonwealth Youth Games being held in Pune from   12th-18th October this year.  Amenities· Provision of on-line coach indication display board; on-line train arrival departure information board; on-line   reservation availability information board.· Provision of discharge-free green toilets in all 36,000 coaches in XI Plan period at a cost of about  Rs.4,000 cr.· LHB design coaches for all Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains over next few years.· Provision of LHB coaches with stainless steel bogies in Mail/Express trains.  Concessions· Senior citizen concession for women enhanced to 50% from existing 30%.· Free Monthly Seasonal Ticket to girl students up to graduation level in place of 12th standard and for     boys up to 12th standard in place of 10th standard.  Improvements in ticketing  Termination of queues at ticket counters targeted in two years.· Ticket booking on mobile phones; E-ticket for waitlisted passengers.· Increase in Unreserved Ticketing Systems counters to 15,000 and ATVMs to 6000.  Reduction in passenger fares· One rupee discount per passenger for fares up to Rs.50 in non suburban Second Class (ordinary and    mail/express)· 5% discount across the board for passenger fares beyond Rs.50 for all non suburban Second Class      (ordinary and mail/express).· Increase in discount for travel in new design high capacity reserved coaches.· Reduction in fare – AC-I : 7%; and AC-II : 4% (the reduction will be half for popular trains and during peak   period).  Freight Business Reductions & Concessions · 5% reduction in freight rates for Petrol and Diesel.· 14% reduction in freight rate of Fly-ash.· Liberalisation of Traditional Empty Flow direction incentive scheme- 30% discount on entire traffic in place of incremental traffic booked from goods shed.- Increase in discount on incremental traffic booked from private sidings from 30% to 40%.· 6% freight concession for traffic booked from other   States for stations in North Eastern States.  New Initiatives· Target for loading fixed at 850 MT in 2008-09.· Blue - Print prepared for High Density Network.· Top priority being given to port rail connectivity projects.· New and dedicated iron ore routes to be upgraded/constructed.· Work on Eastern freight corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni (Kolkata) and Western freight corridor from    Delhi to JNPT to start in 2008-09.  Procurement of Rolling Stock:   All time high of 20,000 wagons, 250 diesel and 220 electric locomotives to  be manufactured.· New Wagon Leasing Policy and Wagon Investment Scheme formulated to increase availability

of   wagons  in the system.· Discounts for development of bulk and non-bulk goods terminals.  Safety & Security · Multi-pronged scheme to strengthen railway safety through various automatic devices like anti-collision    device etc.· Rail accidents have reduced remarkably despite substantial increase in gross traffic volumes.· Fire resistant material to be used in coaches.· Unmanned level crossings at busy sections to be manned on a fast track basis.· Integrated security plan drawn up through installation of CCTVs, metal detectors etc.  Welfare Measures

  Social Welfare· 99% backlog vacancies for SCs/STs filled up in special campaign launched since 2004.· Appointment of candidates from SCs/STs/OBCs exceeded their respective quotas in Group D    appointments.· Minorities welfare cells to be opened at Railway   Board and Zonal Railways.· One time exercise of appointing Railway Porters as gangmen and to other Group D posts.· Mother-Child Health Express to be run on a pilot basis at concessional fares in collaboration with Rajiv    Gandhi Foundation for providing medical facilities to mother and child.  Staff Welfare  Per-capita contribution to Staff Benefit Fund to be increased by ten times from Rs.35 to Rs.350 for 2008-09.· Northern Railway Central Hospital at Delhi to be made centrally air-conditioned.· Two divisional hospitals at Jaipur and Hubli to be upgraded to central hospitals.· A new divisional hospital at Ranchi and an OPD block at Integral Coach Factory to be constructed.· Employees who joined Railways from other agencies/PSUs etc and are eligible for pensionary benefits,   would now be eligible for post retirement complimentary passes as per the norms being set.  Future Vision· Vision 2025 document aims at setting the roadmap for coming 17 years – customer centric and market    responsive strategic initiatives. · Information Technology Vision 2012 aims at radical changes in IT applications on a common platform    with focus on improvement in operational efficiency, transparency in working ad better services to the    customers.· Multi-Departmental Innovation Promotion Group at Apex Level.· Public-Private Partnership schemes to be launched for attracting an investment of Rs.1,00,000 cr over    the  next five years for developing world class stations, rolling stock ad other logistics.· Commercial use of Railway land by Rail Land Development Authority to give a boost to Railway Revenues.  Other Important Announcements· A new rail coach factory to be set up in Kerala.· A new wagon re-construction unit to be set up at Garkha in Chapra District.· Modernisation and development of Workshops at Jamalpur, Lilluah, Perambur and Ajmer.· Taking over of Mokama and Muzaffarpur wagon factories.· Setting up of a 1000 MW thermal power plant, a joint venture of Indian Rail Bijli Company Ltd. with   NTPC, at Nabinagar District of Auragabad, Bihar.