2016 rail budget woos all

Though the minister also confessed that the railways resources are feeble as the freight and passenger fares are not being affixed in an optimum manner, the overall presentation is being said to have been public-friendly. In other words, the budget has been framed to please all- industry, passengers and experts and is based on three development pillars – revenues, norms and restructure.

Chief Public Relations Officer, Western Central Railway Surendra Yadav on a happy note said, “There are enough reasons for us to be happy even though the operating ration has increased. The target is 92% but we can meet it. Never before had safety and infrastructure been given so much importance. We have sanction for new lines (though two were proposed earlier) and even the rail over bridges and subways have found a place in the budget.”

On the other hand, Member of Parliament, Alok Sanjar while speaking with WTN says, “the budget has been prepared and presented keeping in mind the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The double-decker overnight train is an excellent proposal. The proposed facilities will provide a lot of relief for those travelling long distances. Apart from these, there are few more takeaways for the frequent travelers.

Besides the railway and political bigwigs, but even the public – especially the women, are happy. Swati Guha, a homemaker says, “I often travel to Shahdol which takes almost 13-15 hours and it is particularly difficult to carry milk in summers. So, now if milk and special meals for children will be provided in the trains, it will be so much easy for mothers like me. Also, availability of medicines at stations is a unique addition.”

There are a few takeaways too for senior citizens like Virendra Sahay. The 74-year-old former engineer with a private firm is glad that the senior citizen quota for lower berths in each coach has been increased by 50%. After a mental calculation, he says, “Now, there will approximately 120 lower berths per train for seniors. Another feature that I have like is the transparency process. Online recruitment process, use of social media and even requesting cleaning of toilets through SMSes is fantastic.”

Amit Jha, a local businessman says, “The budget is quite nice – like the installation of 20,000 display screens at 2,000 stations for better dissemination of information, re-imagine design of coaches, providing soft skills to coolies, beautification of pilgrim stations seem very interesting, but let’s see what happens when it comes to the implementation part.” Jha frequently travels to Delhi for business purpose and says he is particularly looking forward to the overnight double-decker trains.