New Delhi: Union Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad presented the Interim Railway Budget for the first four months of the financial year 2009-2010 in Parliament on Friday and with an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, made many populist announcements.
Lalu announced 43 new trains and an across-the-board two per cent cut in fares of ordinary and AC class.
While making the Budget speech, Lalu said that the 43 new trains will start in 2009-10. Fourteen trains have been extended and frequency of 14 others increased. He also announced the introduction of a bullet train between New Delhi and Patna.
He also announced reduction in the fares of ordinary passenger trains by Re one for fares upto Rs 50 for journey above 10 km.
He also announced that railways are looking to increase efficiency of passenger and goods wagons. “Passenger trains will have 22 per cent more capacity,” said Lalu.
Lalu claimed the Railways scaled new heights in the last five years without putting a burden on the common man.
"The turnaround made by the Railways was far different from that achieved by private enterprises," said Lalu.
The Railway Minister also claimed there has been a sharp decrease in the number of accidents in Railways since 2003. He said that there were just 194 accidents in 2008 compared to 325 in 2004.
Lalu said Railways earned profit of Rs 90,000 crore and pointed out that in November 2008, Railways got $10 crore loan at four per cent.
He also revealed that freight has grown at a rate of eight per cent over the last five years.
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