Railway Budget 2012: Dinesh Trivedi wins aam-aadmi's hearts

New Delhi, Mar 14: Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi finally succeeded to win the hearts of the aam-aadmi (common man) as he has not proposed any steep hikes in railway tickets. Rajdeep Sardesai, the editor in chief IBN network tweeted from his Twitter account, "Hike is token, but at least it's a start to get the railways back on track! Most experts giving thumbs up to Dineshbhai!" [Indian Railway Budget 2012: Highlights]
2:00 PM

First hike in passenger fares in last 10 years. Rs 12 hiked over 300 km journey. 10 pc/ km hike in AC fares. 2 paise/km to 30 paise/km increase in fares. [Read More: Rail Budget: 'No steep hike in fares']
1:51 PM

50 % concession in AC and AC chair cars for sickle-cell anaemia patients. Under Izzat Scheme, fares according to kilometres travelled to be increased: Trivedi [UPDATE: Rail fares hiked: Mamata upset, Dinesh Trivedi to resign?]
1:48 PM

Good news for passengers - there will not be any steep hike in railway fares, says Trivedi.
1:46 PM

Karnataka mining scam left a grave impact on Railway budget 2012 as Trivedi said that continued ban on iron ore by Karnataka has led to downfall of 993 to 970 million metric tonnes.
1:43 PM

Freight earning target at Rs 89,339 crore. The ministry expected a revenue of 30% in 2012-13 at Rs 89,000 crore in the same.
1:39 PM

The minister claimed that number of passengers expected to increase by 5.4%. Passenger earnings expected to go up to Rs 3,673 crore.
1:37 PM

Satellite based real-time information of trains to update passengers on all running trains in next 18 months, said Trivedi who also informed that they have plan to set up three training centres for training in disaster management.
1:33 PM

Guru Parikrama special trains to run through Amritsar, Patna, Nanded routes, said Dinesh Trivedi.
1:29 PM

To minimise human error, proper rest period will be introduced. e-procurement, e-auction of scraps planned. Trivedi also proposed to modernise production units.
1:25 PM

Trivedi will make Indian Railways more hygienic. Cleanliness standards to be improved within next 6 months, said Trivedi.
1:18 PM

Showing his confidence on the ministry, Trivedi claimed that the challenging task of converting DC to AC has been achieved in the western railways, in Central Railways and in Pune.
12:57 PM

825 km of gauge conversion to be completed, stated Trivedi who also urged all state governments to come forward to share the cost to facilitate early completion of projects.
12:54 PM

The Union Railway Minister informed that 85 new line projects, 114 new line surveys to be carried out. All the lines, which the Planning Commission has given approval for have been included, informed Trivedi.
12:53 PM

Trivedi proposed Rs 4,410 core for capacity augmentation works. Special trains have been offered for Navi Mumbai as Trivedi said that they have plan to start coaching complex and terminal in Navi Mumbai. [Read More: Rail Budget: 75 new express trains announced]

12:50 PM

Trivedi said that the ministry has plans to to set up Indian Railway Station Organisation to redevelop, maintain stations on the lines of airports. Double decker container trains also planned.
12:47 PM

Total investment to modernise signalling system at Rs 39,110 crore. Trains' speed limit to be set at 160 km/ph. Total investment to modernise signalling system at Rs 39,110 crore.
12:44 PM

Plan to modernise 19,000 km through renewal upgradation of tracks. Signalling system will be modernised. The track to be modernised accounts for 80% of the traffic: Dinesh Trivedi
12:41 PM

Dinesh Trivedi claimed that he had only two options - either to keep the railways status quo or byte the bullet.
12:31 PM

Want to reduce operating ratio from 95% to 84.9% in FY 2012-13. A huge sum of Rs 14 lakh crore is required in the next 10 years for this sector: Trivedi [Read More: Rail Budget: Railways to borrow Rs 50,000 cr in 2012-13]
12:29 PM

The minister claimed that he has chosen modernisation to become a powerful growth mechanism for the Indian economy. The areas of focus are safety, consolidation, decongestion and augmentation, modernisation, said Trivedi.
12:28 PM

Most of the projects can't be completed in a time-bound manner unless supported by Government. The choice before me is either to keep the system dragging or build a modern system, said Trivedi.
12:26 PM

Indian Railways will invest Rs 3.5 lakh crore during the 12th plan in Railways. The minister sought Rs 2.5 lakh crore as budgetary support from Government in the 12th Plan.
12:23 PM

Dinesh Trivedi proposed to set up a Railway Research & Developmental Council. Investment under 12th-5 year is estimated as 7.35 lakh crore.
12:21 PM

Anil Kakodkar to head the rail safety panel. Funding is an issue which needs to be collectively dealt with.
12:19 PM

The railway minister is not satisfied with the current safety measure. Special purpose vehicle to be set up, independent rail safety authority also to be set up, said Trivedi.
12:15 PM

Dinesh Trivedi started addressing the Parliament and claimed that the Rail Budget 2012-13 has been prepared citing the demands and needs of common man.
12:00 PM

Highly placed sources in the Ministry has claimed that Trivedi could reveal plans for internal generation of fund from additional resources like commercialisation of stations.
11:49AM

Rail Budget 2012 to be presented in Parliament after Question Hour. Meanwhile the Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon after uproar over shortage of coal for power plants in Bihar.
11:46AM

The copies of the Rail Budget have been brought to the Parliament.
11:34AM

Strong indications from sources that Railways could impose a safety nest cess.
11:27AM

With Union Railway Minister all set to present his maiden Railway Budget on Mar 14, there is much anticipation if there will be a hike in passenger fares. [Read: No fare hike; safety cess likely]. With the Indian Railways facing a financial crunch, Dinesh Trivedi was speaking to reporters before heading to Parliament where he said, "The Budget is going to be very good, specially for the common man."

He added that the Indian Railways is going to shine like gold after the budget and said, "Railways is an important part of infrastructure. The Rail Budget will make sure that Indian Railways shines like gold. Our smile is conveying everything. The Railway Budget is going to be good."

The budget is expected to be presented at 12PM.

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