- RAILWAY BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
- Mamata apologises for missed targets. Will do better this year, she promises.
- No changes in fares
- As expected, West Bengal gets priority in Mamata’s railway budget.
- Senior citizen concessions for women start at age 58 instead of 60.
- Senior Citizen concession raised to 40 percent
- 50 per cent concession on fares for media personnel and their families twice a year.
- Revenue will exceed Rs 1 lakh crore, a 9.9 per cent increase over last year’s number.
- Railways facing money shortage, passing through difficult phase, says Mamata.
- 10 year-backlog in recruitment will be addressed right away.
- Ticket booking charges reduced by 50 per cent.
- Smart card ‘Go India’ tickets to be introduced.
- Mamata proposes bridge factory in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Manipur to get diesel locomotive centre.
- Mamata plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore from tax-free bonds.
- Incentives for states with no ‘Rail Roko’ agitation: Two extra trains and two new projects
- Railways to create 10,000 shelters for the poor.
- Fund for social causes will be called PM Rail Vikas Yojana.
- Anti-collision device is ready, three zonal railways will commission it soon.
- Nandigram to get railway industrial park, Singur to get metro coach factory.
- Track-making centre to come up at Uluberia in West Bengal.
- 2011 is Green Energy Year for railways, says Mamata.
- PPPs with major universities to modernise Railways
- International training centre to come up at Agra.
- New Duronto trains on Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Madurai-Chennai, Chennai- Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai Central-New Delhi routes.
- Parliament adjourns for lunch.
- As expected, West Bengal gets priority in Mamata’s railway budget.
- ‘Let me drink some water,’ Mamata tells MPs.
- Mamata listing out new trains as MPs’ murmurs get louder.
- New Duronto trains on Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Madurai-Chennai, Chennai- Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai Central-New Delhi routes.
- New Shatabdhis between Pune and Secundrabad, Jaipur and Agra.
- Mamata promises railway jobs for 16,000 ex-servicemen.
- Multi-purpose smart cards for long-distance travel.
- Double-decker AC trains for Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Jaipur-Delhi.
- New trains for states going to the polls.
- Capacity of 107 Mumbai trains to be increased.
- New trains for Vivekananda, Tagore birth anniversaries.
- Mamata announces three new Shatabdhis.
- Mamata announces new Duronto trains.
- 50 per cent concession on fares for media personnel and their families twice a year.
- Concessions for the physically challenged on Rajdhani and Shatabdhi trains
- Senior citizen concessions for women start at age 58 instead of 60.
- Railways will strengthen suburban networks in Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru.
- Suburban networks of Hyderabad and Secunderabad will be improved.
- Proud of my state, will do more for it, says Mamata.
- Kindly continue, Meira Kumar tells Mamata.
- Haven’t announced anything major, yet MPs are shouting, complains Mamata.
- Speaker Meira Kumar smiling, waiting for screaming MPs to settle down.
- MPs on their feet, shouting Mamata down.
- ‘Poora karne deejiye,’ Meira Kumar tells screaming MPs.
- Lalu is speaking, but no one can hear him in the din.
- West Bengal-orientation of Mamata’s proposals irk MPs.
- Mamata screams back at fellow-MPs. Meira Kumar calls for calm.
- Please sit down, please sit down, please sit down, Meira Kumar tells MPs.
- Don’t shout, Mamata tells MPs.
- Shouts drown out Mamata’s voice as she announces projects for West Bengal.
- Kolkata Metro will expand its network.
- Railways will go from strength to strength, says Mamata.
- Revenue will exceed Rs 1 lakh crore, a 9.9 per cent increase over last year’s number.
- Kolkata to get 15 new suburban trains.
- 2011 is Green Energy Year for railways, says Mamata.
- Safety measure: All unmanned level crossings will be removed.
- Railways facing money shortage, passing through difficult phase, says Mamata.
- 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore: Train will go to Bangladesh on a commemorative journey.
- If you shout, I won’t grant you anything, Mamata ribs fellow-MPs.
- International training centre to come up at Agra.
- Mamata quotes poetry, Lata Mangeshkar songs.
- Meira Kumar makes a farmaish:’ Where are your couplets?’
- 10 year-backlog in recruitment will be addressed right away, says Mamata.
- Elderly workers will be transferred to less strenuous positions.
- Ticket booking charges reduced by 50 per cent.
- Smart card tickets to be introduced.
- Mamata apologises for missed targets. Will do better this year, she promises.
- Railways environment-friendly and fuel-efficient, says Mamata.
- Railways to get help from IITs to develop new technology.
- Trouble-free states can decide what reward projects they want.
- Two extra trains and two new projects for states with no rail roko agitations.
- Rail is ‘desh ka service’, stop rail roko agitations, urges Mamata.
- Lalu suppresses a yawn as Mamata delivers budget speech.
- Anti-collision device is ready, three zonal railways will commission it soon.
- Fund for social causes will be called PM Rail Vikas Yojana.
- Mamata to set up fund to support social causes.
- Mamata plans gas-based power plant in Maharashtra.
- Questions and shouts distract Mamata, but she resumes her budget speech.
- Mamata on new connections: “If rail connectivity is there, every connectivity will increase in this country.”
- Railways to create 10,000 shelters for the poor.
- Mamata plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore from tax-free bonds.
- More than 4 lakh travelled on Izzat tickets, priced at Rs 25.
- Railways’ infrastructure will be expanded, says Mamata.
- Nandigram to get railway industrial park.
- Singur in West Bengal to get metro coach factory.
- Track-making centre to come up at Uluberia in West Bengal.
- Manipur to get diesel locomotive centre.
- Mamata proposes bridge factory in Jammu and Kashmir.
- New coach factory at Rae Bareilly will deliver first coach in three months, says Mamata.
- Difficult to meet individual demands, but collective demands can be met, Mamata tells MP.
- Key material for locomotive, coach production not easily available in India, says Mamata.
- Mamata talks about railways’ measures to support industry.
- Mamata thanks staff, passengers, unions, describes railways as “arteries of this pulsating nation”.
- Mamata begins budget speech, thanks PM for support.
- Slowdown in industrial growth is temporary, says economic survey.
- Savings, investment rates may rise, says government’s economic survey.
- Economic survey out, says probability of second dip recession low.
- Parliament resumes; Pranab says he lost his cool because too many questions were thrown at him.
- Pranab takes a dig at CPM, parliament adjourned for five minutes.
- Legal restrictions preventing disclosure of names of those with black money, says Pranab.
- Pranab Mukherjee faces angry questions on black money, loses his temper.
- Rail fares may go up in June-July, after elections in West Bengal are done.
- Parliament opens; Pranab speaking on black money menace.
- Mamata may revise catering policy, announce more kitchens.
- Mamata may announce survey for 107 new routes, say sources.
- Railways spent Rs 50 crore on developing anti-collision device, but accidents persist.
- Safety compromised: 336 lost their lives in 90 train accidents in 2010-11.
- Mamata expected to address passenger safety. Ninety per cent of accidents avoidable, say experts.
- Locomotive drivers are overworked, and railways need to hire more.
- Mamata all set to present her fifth railway budget. She may favour Bengal since this is election year.
- Railway stocks look up as budget announcement nears.
- Mamata may announce more express trains for Bengal, NE states.
- No hike in passenger fares expected; freight rates may also remain untouched.
- Railway safety a concern: 250 train accidents, and over 500 deaths, between 2009 and 2011.
- Railway stocks down by 1 to 4 per cent, but perform better than yesterday.
- Mamata preoccupied with Bengal politics, not paying attention to railways, complain critics.
- Growing economy needs more railway capacity, but growth lagging, says railway planning expert.
- Mamata’s white paper demolished Lalu’s profitability claims. Are railway finances a mess?
- Countdown begins for presentation of rail budget. TV channels expect ‘please-all’ proposals.
- Mamata expected to offer concessions to students, farmers.
- Mamata may raise production targets for wagons, coaches and locomotives.
- Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee reaches Parliament to present the Rail Budget
- Mamata Banerjee reaches Rail Bhavan, will present the Budget in the Parliament
- Budget is of the people, for the people, by the people: Mamata Banerjee
- Follow us live for Railway Budget at 11AM
- Fare hike unlikely
- Rail stocks derail ahead of Budget
- Industry hoping for implementation of rail projects
- Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to present her fifth Rail Budget in the Parliament today