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Indian gov't unveils pro-people railway budget
NEW DELHI, Feb 26, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
India's ruling Congress-led
United Progressive Alliance government Tuesday unveiled a "pro-
people" railway budget for the fiscal 2013 to 2014, putting growth
of the sector as well as passenger amenities and safety as
priorities.
Indian Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal presented the rail
budget in Parliament, clearly steering clear of any passenger fare
hike and informing the huge losses the network is currently
facing.
"The growth of Indian Railways is inextricably linked with the
growth of the country. It must remain financially sustainable.
Resources generated must be ploughed back," the Railways Minister
said, adding that the railways still remains the single most
important catalyst in India's growth story.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives in a stampede in the
northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh's town of Allahabad's main
railway station recently, the Minister stressed that commuters
deserve safe and comfortable travel. "Safety is a necessary
mandate for running trains. With the untiring endeavor of the
railway family to address human failure and technical
deficiencies, there has been a significant reduction in the
incidence of rail accidents. We will strive to work towards a zero
accident situation," he said.
He also spoke of increasing safety of women passengers,
announcing deployment of female security personnel on trains.
The Minister asserted that the remaining 13,000-odd unmanned
level crossings across the country will be mechanized to prevent
any future mishaps.
He also announced a project that will allow passengers to book
railway tickets from their mobiles, and said that the railways
would soon start an SMS alert system for passengers which will
provide updates on reservation status. He even spoke of providing
free wireless internet connections on many trains. He said: "I
plan to roll out a more efficient and people sensitive railway
service system. As a follow up to overwhelming response to Indian
Railways website and integrated train inquiry service under 193, a
project of SMS alerts to passengers providing updates on
reservation status is being rolled out shortly." Experts say that
Bansal, who is the first Railway Minister from Congress party in
nearly 17 years to present the railway budget, had met with
widespread political criticism after he hiked railway fares last
month. So, this is a "pro-people" budget keeping in mind the
general elections slated for next year. India's state-owned
railway is one of the world's largest railway networks, operating
some 9,000 passenger trains and carrying over 18 million
passengers everyday.
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