By Ruma Dubey

Is it mandatory for the UPA Railway Ministers to start the Budget by paying homage and thanking the leaders of Congress? Something akin to paying salutations to Lord Ganesha before embarking on any venture?

Pawan Bansal while evincing pride about being at the helm of a mammoth network like India Railways, also painted a very grim picture of the railways. And apart from quoting poetry, he said, "Indian railways must remain financially sustainable," and that essentially is the crux of Indian Railways problem. And he sums it up by saying that resource crunch cannot be an excuse for sub-standard services. Well, Mr.Bansal spoke the truth and stated all things which we knew were the issues with Indian Railways, yet at the end of it all, his Budget had nothing bold and new. It was the usual Budget, about new trains, promise of security, cleanliness, bio-toilets, hygienic and affordable food, faster IRCTC website and much better service. He said that he has proposed strict financial planning for the Railways but looking at the all the projects and plans, aim to fill up 1,52 lakh vacancies and other ambitious plans, one wonders how Railways will turnaround. He hopes to close FY14 fiscal in the positive; maybe it can if only all that which he has announced in the Budget is implemented. Track record shows that plans are always grandiose and chest beating but a mere trickle of these plans gets actually implemented.

As expected, passenger fares were not hiked but given the hike in diesel prices, this is not good news economically. But yes, a good political move. Freight charges are expected to go up 5% and that in a sense was a good move but will end up adding to the overall inflationary pressures.

It is indeed a matter of pride when Bansal says that Indian Railways is all set to enter 1 billion ton freight club of China, Russia and US in FY13. Bansal has announced a slew of passenger friendly measures, shown responsibility for the environment, tried to bring a sense of balance from the over tilt towards Bihar and Bengal, given priority to security and all major PPP projects. Yes, he has said all that is right but it seems to be all over the place – aiming to do too many things.

But the dreams of traveling in a clean train, eat good, hygienic food, feel secure and enjoy Indian Railways remains distant. The initiatives taken are laudable but like all plans, as said earlier, it all depends on implementation and accountability. Well, nothing on that in this long Railway Budget.

Interestingly, the Railway Budget was interspersed with a lot of poetry and one could see Mr.Chidambaram smiling on, ear-to-ear. The limelight is now on him and one hopes that he not only quotes good poetry but also makes the Budget as sweet as a melodious song.

• No hike in passenger fares
• Fuel-linked adjustments to raise freight tariff by an average of 5%
• Proposed hike in reservation fee and tatkal charges
• Introduce AC coaches for Mumbai suburban network
• To complete electrification of 1200 kms
• To convert 450 kms of broad gauge to narrow gauge in FY14
• To take up 22 new projects of new lines in FY14
• To launch 67 new express trains and 26 new passenger trains
• Rs.24,600 crore estimated loss in FY13 v/s Rs.22,500 crore in FY12
• 11th Plan fell short of target for doubling tracks
• 12th Plan rail market borrowing atRs.1.20 lakh crore
• To work towards zero accident goal
• 10,797 level crossings to be eliminated in the 12th Plan
• Launch corporate safety plan for 10 years starting from 2014
• Rs.100 crore for upgradation of New Delhi stations
• Proposed 179 escalators and more wheel chairs
• Plan for free w-fi facility onboard trains
• To put in new e-ticketing system by Dec
• Plan executive lounges in Bilaspur, Nagpur, Patna and Vishakhapatnam
• FY13 freight loading estimated to rise 38 mt (YoY) in FY13
• To award 1500 km of freight corridor project next fiscal
• Target Rs.1 lakh crore of PPP projects in 12th Plan
• Plans Rs.200 crore fund for land and station development
• Aims Rs.4500 crore by scrap sale in FY14
• Allocation of Rs 1,000 crore each made for railway land development authority and railway station development authority
• To ban use of plastic in catering
• Rs.4000 crore envisaged for coal mine connectivity project
• Rs.9000 crore envisaged for port, mine connectivity
• Rs.8000 crore for iron ore mine connectivity
• To set up electromotive manufacture unit in Rajasthan in JV with BHEL
• Wage maintenance workshorp in Kalahandi, Orissa
• To set up Equipment signaling plant at Chandigarh via PPP
• To set up 75 MW windmill project
• To fill up 1.52 lakh vacancies in railway
• To set up coach manufacturing unit in Sonepat, Haryana
• New train Azadi Express to places linked with the freedom struggle to be introduced, fares to be concessional.