Rail Budget 2015 to focus on cleanliness and mending finances

NEW DELHI: Cleanliness is going to be the buzzword in the rail budget to be presented later this month.

In his first budget, railway minister Suresh Prabhu is also expected to pitch for improvement in the financial health of the ailing public transporter as well as passenger services.

Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' campaign, Prabhu is set to announce a slew of measures to improve cleanliness that may include coverage of more trains under 'On Board Housekeeping Services', installation of bio-toilets in trains and stations, provision for dustbins in all type of coaches as most non-AC coaches are not provided with this facility and improving passenger facilities at stations by involving NGOs and voluntary organizations.

In a disabled-friendly move, Prabhu is likely to make a proposal to provide Braille signs at stations and in all new coaches.

The minister may announce air-conditioned trains to make inter-city travel more comfortable.

Considering the poor heath of the transporter, Prabhu is likely to resist the temptation for big-ticket announcements and would come out with proposals for innovative funding for its infrastructure projects. Railways faces a huge challenge to mobilize resources to fund around 300 pending projects that require an investment of Rs 1.7 lakh crore.

The new plan will involve pooling in funds from Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme, state governments and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of private sector for various projects.

The minister has asked state governments to set up special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to channelize funds for completion of ongoing railway projects.

The progress made on PM Narendra Modi's ambitious plan of Diamond Quadrilateral -- connecting major metros and growth centres with high speed trains would also be spelled out in the budget. As part of the plan to run semi-high speed trains on several corridors, the budget is likely to propose indigenously built coaches or train sets to run at 200 km per hour speed in keeping with the Modi government's 'Make in India' initiative.

The north-east is going to be another key focus area as the budget may announce introduction of local services to improve connectivity in the region.

The budget will also focus on women's safety. Prabhu is likely to announce a slew of measures including installation of CCTV cameras in coaches of all express and mail trains to curb growing incidents of crime against women travelers.

Other women-friendly proposals include recruitment of more women constables in Railway Protection Force (RPF) and launch of a mobile app, designed especially for women commuters, which will help passengers avail immediate help from the RPF while traveling in trains.