No Hike In Rail Fares, More Trains And Facilities Upcoming. Here Are The Highlights #RailBudget2016
Sticking to his promise of 'innovative solutions', Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in his Rail Budget speech announced many new trains which will cater to the growing demand for services.
No hike in railway fares: @sureshpprabhu #RailBudget2016
¡ª TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 25, 2016
For senior citizens we're increasing quota by 50% resulting in almost 120 lower berths per train: @sureshpprabhu #RailBudget2016
¡ª TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 25, 2016
#WiFi services at 100 stations this year and at 400 more stations in next 2 years: @RailMinIndia @sureshpprabhu | #RailBudget2016
¡ª Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) February 25, 2016
#RailBudget2016: Intend to commission Wi-Fi services at 100 stations this year, 400 by next year: @sureshpprabhu
¡ª ET Infotech News (@ETInfotechNews) February 25, 2016
#RailBudget2016: Impact on common man @RailMinIndia @sureshpprabhu
¡ª NDTV (@ndtv) February 25, 2016
Highlights here: https://t.co/qGlXxs2kah pic.twitter.com/897wnW4oSV
Prabhu announced new trains and addition of coaches. These new facilities are aimed specially for unreserved travel.
Antyodaya Express
Will introduce Antyodaya Express, a long-distance, unreserved, superfast train service, for the common man, to be operated on dense routes.
Dayalu coaches
Will also add two to four Dayalu coaches in some long distance trains for unreserved travel with facility for potable drinking water and a higher number of mobile charging points.
Humsafar Express
Introduced Humsafar Express - full air-conditioned third AC service with an operational services for meals.
Tejas
Introduced Tejas - will showcase the future of train travel in India with operating speeds of 130kmph and above plus world-class on board services.
Dubble decker trains
Prabhu announced introduction of Utkrisht double-decker air-conditioned Yatri (Uday) Express with increased carrying capacity of almost 40%.
Boost to online ticket booking
Looking to make the online ticketing system a robust one, Prabhu said, "We have enhanced capacity of e-ticketing system from 2000 tickets/min to 7,200/min." "We are now supporting 1.2 lakh concurrent users now, as opposed to 40,000 earlier," he added.
"There is no barrier today between a common passenger and Indian Railways," Prabhu said citing outreach to improve customer services.
Connect north-east
With an aim to up connectivity, Prabhu proposed to connect North-Eastern states via broad-gauge. "We will connect North-eastern states of Misoram, Tripura via broad-gauge," Prabhu said.
