New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal in his maiden budget speech proposed marginal increases which include supplementary charge for superfast trains, reservation fee, clerkage charge, cancellation charge and tatkal charge. Also, freight charges will now attract fuel surcharge. Through this announcement he touched passenger fares indirectly. “There are a number of charges which have not been revised for last several years. These charges are in the form of compensation for cost actually incurred by railways in rendering relevant services,” Bansal said.Watch: Superfast, Tatkal charges to go up l 67 new express trains introduced l Next Gen e-ticketing system “Poor and middle class travel by railways have not be addressed. Fuel surcharge is the backdoor method to increase fares,” BSP supremo Mayawati said. “Freight charges are also going to go up. it will lead to hike in prices of essential commodities and inflation, she added. He also focused on safety, financial stability, better facilities, economic principles and austerity measures. “Money saved is money earned”. Austerity and economy in expenditure will be observed by the Railways rigorously and no wastages will be permitted. I would like to inform the august House of some measures taken or proposed to be taken for enforcing strict financial discipline,” Bansal said. “Indian Railways must remain financially sustainable.The growth of Railways is linked with the growth of the country,”
he said “The number of passenger trains has increased from 8000 in 2001 to over 12000 in 2012 - yet losses continue to mount. It is estimated to be Rs. 24,000 cr in 2012-13,” he said. “As regards passenger fares, since these were revised only in January this year, I do not intend to pass on the additional burden to them now and railways will absorb the impact of Rs 850 cr on this account,” he added. Railways committed to comforts and safety “Kumbh stampede has shaken all of us. Railway passengers deserve safe and comfortable travel and it would strive to build in a higher level of contingency margin in our future planning,” the minister expressed. He said Railways needs to strive to work on a zero-accident commitment “Level crossings matter of concern, enhancing track capacity, signallling systems, train-collision avoidance system to validate operational conditions, upgradation of track structures. Fire is a major cause of concern. Provision of fire extinguishers in guard-break cabs, ac coaches, pantry 
coaches and social awareness campaigns,” he noted. Talking on enhancing security in railways, he said, “Railways have created 4 companies of women RPF personnel. Recruitment of women personnel reserved to 10 %. Many trains escorted by Railway Police and Women RPF staff. Security numbers provided for immediate intervention.” Observing the difficulties faced by the differently abled, he said wheelchairs and escalators will be made to make stations and trains friendlier for the handicapped. Introduction of 'Next Generation e-ticketing system'“E-tickets can be made through mobile phones PNR status will be given to commuters through SMS. Internet booking will be provided from 12.30 am to 11.30 pm now. This will help in transparency and eliminate fraud agents,” he said. Talking about the 'Next generation' e-ticketing system, he said," The system shall be able to support 7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 tickets per minute today. It will support 1,20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time against the
present capacity of 40,000 users with capability to easily scale up as 10 demand increases in future." He said, Rs.100 crore for improving stations in New Delhi He spoke of following austerity measures in the Railways. “Money saved is money earned, austerity followed, strict financial discipline,” he said. Railways plans to fill 1.2 lakh vacancies this year, target of Rs 4,000 crore for railway production units in 2014 The first AC EMU rake will be introduced on Mumbai suburban network. 'Anubhuti' coaches with modern facilities With increasing popularity of Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains, he said there is also a demand for higher travel comfort. Responding to this need, to begin with, IR will introduce one such coach in select trains which will provide an excellent ambience and latest modern facilities and services. Such coaches will be named ‘Anubhuti’ with commensurate fare structure. Railways will also provide free Wi-Fi facility on several trains to cater to the increasing needs. Bansal had engineered a passenger fare hike on January 21 in the midst of the railways facing a loss of about Rs 25,000 crore in the segment. The railways had aimed to mop up an additional revenue of Rs 6,600 crore through the price hike. However, the deregulation of diesel price for bulk users wiped out Rs 3,300 crore.Source: News-Bullet
