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Highlights of the Union Railway Budget 2001-2002
Following are the highlights of the Union Railway Budget 2001-2002 tabled in Parliament today:
- No increases in passenger fares of any class or category of trains. Passenger traffic to grow by nine per cent, coaches by 8.8 per cent.
- Freight rates go up by 3 per cent.
- Essential commodities like sugar, salt, grains and pulses, edible oils, kerosene, fruits and vegetables, LPG have been exempted.
- Freight rates for coal, iron and steel have been hiked by 2 per cent, while that on furnace oil to increase by one per cent.
- No increase in rates of parcel and luggage.
- This hike is likely to generate additional revenue of Rs 5 billion during fiscal 2001-02.
- Items like newspaper, magazine and medicine to be exempted from any kind of hike.
- Freight traffic target fixed at 500 million tonne during 2001-2002.
- While concessional monthly seasonal ticket (MST) for people below poverty line will continue, concessions available to orthopaedically handicapped and paraplegic persons will be extended to visually and mentally handicapped.
- Plans to raise Rs 10 billion through non-traditional sources, of which Rs 7 billion by way of leasing of 'right of No fresh new line project included in the budget.
- Automatic teller machines (ATMs) to be used for ticketing at important stations.
- way' of optic fibre cables, Rs 2 billion from commercial exploitation of land and Rs 1 billion through commercial publicity.
- Gross traffic receipts estimated at Rs 394.39 billion in 2001-2002.
- Net Railway revenue projected at Rs 16.83 billion.
- Dividend to government estimated at Rs 23.52 billion in the next fiscal.
- Pensionary liability to increase eight folds to Rs 58 billion during 2001-2002 from Rs 6.33 billion in the current financial year.
- Total working expenses estimated at Rs 386.84 billion.
- Passenger services between Petrapole in India and Benapole in Bangladesh likely to begin; goods traffic opened recently.
- Surveys for 26 new lines to be taken up in 2001-2002.
- 425 kms of rail track to be electrified in the next financial year.
- 24 new trains including New Delhi-Raipur-Bilaspur weekly Rajdhani Express and New Delhi-Ranchi-Hatia weekly Rajdhani Express to be introduced.
- Matribhumi Express trains to run during peak seasons on seven routes including Delhi-Jammu, Howrah-Delhi, Bombay-Gorakhpur, Hyderabad-Bangalore and Bombay-Varanasi.
- To reduce congestion on ticket counters, propose to use Internet kiosks for ticketing.
- Marginal increases of 2 per cent in coal, iron and steel and 1 per cent in furnace oil are proposed. However, there will be no increase in the rates of coal for household consumption.
- Furnace Oil will be suitably reclassified.
- Freight rates of all other commodities, except above are proposed to be increased by 3 per cent.
- Congestion premium: Developmental charges to be levied on certain routes which are heavily congested to movement of additional freight traffic.
- Annual plan of 2001-2002 kept at Rs 110.90 billion.
- Budgetary support at Rs 35.40 billion; market borrowings placed at Rs 40 billion and Rs 35.50 billion to be met through a combination of internal accruals, non-traditional revenues and contribution from General Revenues for Railway Safety Works.
- Allocation for new lines increased to Rs 10.15 billion during 2001-2002.
- Changes in rates and classifications to be effective from April 1, 2001.
PTI
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