Railway Budget 2016

Highlights of the Railway Budget:

* No hike in passenger fares, freight rates

* Rs 8.5 lakh crore to be spent in 5 years for modernisation of rail infrastructure

* To invest Rs 1.21 lakh crore in 2016-17.

* 3 new super-fast trains -- Humsafar Express, Tejas, Uday

* Aastha circuit trains to connect important pilgrim centres

* Super-fast unreserved train Antyodaya Express

* Deen Dayalu unreserved coaches with water, mobile charging points

* 50% more lower berth quota for senior citizens

* By 2020 reserved accommodation on trains on demand

* 400 stations to have wifi, 100 in next fiscal

* Eticketing capacity raised to 7,200/min, from 2,000/min

* CCTV surveillance for all major stations

* 30,000 bio-toilets in trains by next year

* Cleaning of coach on demand soon

* E-booking tickets on concessional passes for journalists

* Bar-coded tickets, scanners on pilot basis

* E-ticketing facility on foreign debit/credit cards

* Sale of tickets through hand held terminals soon

* Beautification stations at pilgrimage centres, including Ajmer, Puri, Varanasi, Nagapattinam

* FM Radio stations to provide train borne entertainment

* Rail Mitra Seva for old and disabled passengers

* Optional travel insurance for rail passengers

* Janani Sewa for providing food for children

* Smart coaches with automatic doors, bio vacuum toilets, improved aesthetics

* Mobile app to deal with ticketing issues, complaints

* Information boards in trains, GPS based digital display inside coaches

* SPV with Japan for Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet train

* Rs 30,000 crore spent on passenger fares.

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