ProMASS News Bureau: Feb 25, 2016:
The Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha is also seen.
The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has said that better connectivity to the North Eastern States is of utmost priority for the Indian Railways. Presenting the Railway Budget 2016-17 in Parliament today he said, Indian Railways have opened the long-awaited Broad Gauge Lumding-Silchar section in Assam, thus connecting Barak Valley with rest of the country. It also brought Agartala, the capital of Tripura on to the Broad Gauge network. He said, the States of Mizoram and Manipur are also set to come on the Broad Gauge map of the country soon with commissioning of the Kathakal-Bhairabi and Arunachal-Jiribam Gauge Conversion projects.
The Minister said, in J&K, despite difficult terrain and uncertain geology, work on Katra-Banihal section of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project is progressing satisfactorily and 35 Kilometers of tunneling, out of total of 95 Kilometers has been completed successfully. He said, the decongestion work on the Jalandhar- Jammu line, an important link to the valley, is going on in full swing. Doubling of two bridges will be commissioned by March 2016, while the other two bridges will be completed by 2016-17, Shri Suresh Prabhu added.
Important Rail Budget proposals
No Hike in Passenger Fare
65,000 Additional Berths and 17,000 Bio Toilets to be Installed
Operations Audit to Improve Punctuality of trains Proposed
Wi Fi Facilities in 400 more Stations
Stations to be Developed Under PPP Mode
Award of Civil Contracts for Dedicated Freight Corridor to be Over by the end of this Financial Year
Capacity of E-Ticketing System to be Enhanced
Increased Quota of Lower Berth for Senior Citizens and Women
820 Robs / Rubs constructed
Operating Ratio to Increase from 90% to 92% Proposed
Nargol- Hazira Port Connectivity to be taken up under PPP Mode