The Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the Rail Budget 2016 on Thursday in the Lok Sabha with FY17 investments seen at 1.21 lakh crore. Adding that the common people have always been the focus of all of the governmnet initiatives, the announcements made by the Rail Minister that will affect your rail travel.
No hike in passenger fares. WiFi services at 100 stations this year and at 400 more stations over next two years.
Fully unreserved superfast trains on heavy traffic routes. All-India 24X7 helpline for women. Berth quota for senior citizens to be increased by 50 per cent.
World's first bio-vacuum toilet developed by Indian Railways is being used in Bibrugarh Rajdhani express. 17,000 more toilets in 475 stations this fiscal.
Walls of many stations have been converted to murals, also contributing to social awareness.All stations to be brought under CCTV surveillance.
Bar-coded rail tickets to be introduced. Ticket cancellation via phone calls to be started soon. Railways to install 1,780 automatic ticketing machines.
Online booking of retiring rooms made possible. E-booking on concession passes for journalists to be introduced.
IRCTC will begin to manage catering in a phased manner, local cuisine of choice will be made available.
E-catering to be expanded from 40 stations to 408 stations. Children's menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available for travelling mothers.
Proposed to invite FM radio stations to provide train borne entertainment via PA systems.
Better experience with porters as they apart from being called "sahayaks", will be trained in soft skills.