The Latest

12 Important Highlights Of The 2016 Railway Budget

byParth Shahanand
25th February 2016
2 minute read

Amidst much expectation and scrutiny, Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu, presented his Railway Budget for the year 2016-2017. With the central theme of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas,’ (Everyone’s support, everyone’s development) the Railway Budget is touted as a significant development from last year’s budget, with new developments, financial plans, and introduction of new trains in the works.

Here are the focal points of the presentation which transpired at the Parliament earlier today at New Delhi.

1. No price hike in fares.

Image source
Image source

For the second year, there has been proposed no hike in passenger and freight fares.

 

2. Introduction of new unreserved train – Antyodaya Express.

Image source
Image source

This will be a fully unreserved, superfast, and long-distance service which will operate on business and dense routes.

 

3. Introduction of new unreserved Deen Dayalu coaches.

Two to four coaches for unreserved passengers in long-distance trains to increase carrying capacity.

 

4. WiFi coverage to be expanded to many stations until next year.

Image source
Image source

100 stations proposed to get WiFi services in 2016 and target is to reach 400 by next year.

 

5. E-ticketing system to be enhanced on a large scale.

The capacity of the online reservation system will be increased from 2,000 to 7,200 tickets per minute.

 

6. Clean My Coach services will be possible to avail via SMS.

Image source
Image source

Passengers can request the toilets/coaches to be cleaned via SMS on pan-India basis.

 

7. Porters to be called ‘Sahayaks’ at all railway stations.

 

8. 139 plans of action from last years’s railway budget have been confirmed to be underway.

 

9. Increased quota for senior citizens and women.

Lower berth quota will be increased to 50% for senior citizens and a 33% sub-quota for women in reserved categories will be enabled.

 

10. Insurance plans for travelling mishaps to be introduced.

Travel insurance for long-distance journeys will be introduced. Funding of Rs. 1.5 lakh by LIC confirmed over favourable terms over the next five years.

 

11. Financial figures for Rail Budget 2016.

tejtejetj

 

12. Baby food, hot milk, and hot water to be available in catering services for mothers and new-borns.

Children’s food menu and baby boards will also be available.

As we’ve already seen, Suresh Prabhu is doing a great job at improving the image of the Indian Railways, and has promised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision 2020 will come to fruition.

What are your thoughts on #RailBudget2016?
Tell us in the comments.

Cover image source

📣 Storypick is now on Telegram! Click here to join our channel (@storypick) and never miss another great story.