railway budget topics 2011

Following are the highlights of the budget: * No increase in passngers fares or freight rates. * Earnings for 2010-11 set to exceed Rs.1 lakh crore. * Working expenditure during 2011-12 estimated at Rs.87,000 crore. * Outlay of Rs.57,630 crore for 2011-12, the highest investment in one year. * Rs.10,000 crore to be raised through railway bonds. * Budget combines strong economic focus with inclusion. * Will develop business-oriented policies to aid industry. * 85 public-private partnership proposals received. * Single-window system to take the forward. * Decided to set-up rail-based industries. * Passing through a difficult phase. * 97 percent increase in expenditure in 2010-11 due to implementation of Sixth Pay Commission report. * Loss of Rs.3,500 crore in 2010-11. * Ten-year backlog of 1.75 lakh jobs being addressed; 16,000 ex-servicemen to be given jobs in railways. * Safety first priority; accident rate has come down. * Anti-collision device, successful in North West Frontier Railway, to be extended to three more zonal railways. * Railways always been a soft target but law and order a state subject. If railways are blocked in one region, this has a snowballing effect in other parts of the country. * Will add 180 km of rail lines in 2011-12. * All-India security helpline set up. * New Durantos to be run on Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Madurai-Chennai routes, among others. * Rail linkage to Gujarat from Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor. * Integrated suburban network to be set up in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and other cities; suburban system of Hyderabad to be strengthened. * Mumbai suburban system's EMU coaches to be increased from nine to 12. * Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojna to be launched. * Industrial park to be set up in Nandigram, West Bengal. * Railways to set up factory in Jammu and Kashmir. * To set up Metro coach factory at Singur, West Bengal. * First coach from Rae Bareli factory to roll out in next three months. * Work on wagon factory in Orissa to begin after land is acquired. * Manipur capital Imphal to be soon connected to railway network. * Centre for excellence in software to be set up at Darjeeling. * Fund to be created for socially desirable projects. * Central Organistaion for Project Implemtaiton created; will create accountability for non-performance. * Work started on two dedicated freight corridors. * Work on upgrading 442 stations to be completed by March 31. * Decision to start pilot projects to give shelter to homeless people living along the tracks in Mumbai. * Multi-purpose smart card to be introduced for all-India travel. * Airport-like trolleys to be provided at more stations. * Railways to set up a sports cadre. * Upgraded class of air conditioned travel to be introduced shortly. * To adopt modern technology through centres of academic excellence. * Train to run to Bangladesh to showcase Indian culture. * Age for senior citizen's concession reduced to 58 from 60. * Concession for physically handicapped and gallantry award winners for travel in Rajdhani and Shatabdi expresses. * 50 percent concession for mediapersons with families to be increased from once to twice a year.