Laloo's budget makes everyone smile

I rise to present the Budget Estimates for 2004-05 for the Indian Railways. The previous government had presented an interim budget on January 30, 2004 when approval for â€˜vote-on-accountâ€™ for the first four months of this financial year for railwaysâ€™ expenditure was obtained. Sir, this is the first Railway Budget of the United Progressive Alliance Government, which assumed office on May 22, 2004. Within the short time available to me, I have made an attempt to identify the challenges and difficulties faced by the Railways and outline measures to overcome the same apart from taking note of thrust areas of the Common Minimum Programme. In this regard I look forward to the valuable inputs of the hon''ble members of this august House. In fact, to start with, I have already written to all the members of this and the Upper House indicating the on going projects and important works in their respective areas and inviting their suggestions for further improvement in the facilities. Special attention will be given to these suggestions and appropriate decision will be taken on the proposals relating to projects after carrying out surveys wherever necessary, giving primacy to the more neglected areas. Indian Railways, the prime movers of the nation, have the distinction of being one of the largest railway systems in the world under a single management. Its contribution to the nationâ€™s progress is immeasurable and it has a dual role to play as a commercial organisation as well as a vehicle for fulfillment of aspirations of the society at large. It is an important catalyst to growth of trade, industry and the economy as a whole, with immense potential for providing indirect employment. Considering this, the United Progressive Alliance government attaches the highest priority to the development and expansion of railway infrastructure as mentioned in the Common Minimum Programme. The travails suffered by the Railways in the last few years, particularly on the safety front, need to be overcome. Presidentâ€™s address to the joint session of Parliament emphasises the governmentâ€™s intention to modernise the railway network keeping both the economic and social dimension in mind. Railways have initiated many policy changes to meet the requirements of its customers, be it freight or passenger services. While continuing the process of reforms, the modernisation of the Railways, replacement and renewal of assets, particularly, the track renewal and safety of passengers will be the thrust areas for the Railways. Other priority areas will be cleanliness of coaches and railway premises, particularly the stations and improvement in passenger amenities. Yet another thrust area will be control over expenditure and stepping up of measures to prevent leakage of revenue. There has been a shortage of resources for investment on Railways, which needs to be enhanced substantially to take care of the priority areas, viz., safety, development and expansion of the system. Railways will continue to strive to effect improvements wherever needed. I have had deliberations with the hon''ble prime minister and hon''ble finance minister who have been kind enough to assure that requisite funds will be made available in the course of this year for railway safety. Indian Railways is committed to improve its internal resources. For this, we will strictly implement a two-pronged strategy with full sincerity. On the one hand, aggressive marketing efforts will be launched to enhance the earnings and leakage of revenue will be arrested at all identified points, e.g., ticketless travel and other malpractices, etc. On the other hand, operating expenses will in no way be allowed to exceed the barest minimum requirement. Optimum utilisation of human resources and cost-effective use of other assets will be ensured. Utmost economy will be maintained in general expenditure. Review of performance in 2003-04 I am glad to report that in the financial year 2003-04 that has just ended, the Railways have moved 557.39 million tonnes of originating revenue-earning traffic, against the target of 550 million tonnes and 38.65 million tonnes higher than the previous yearâ€™s loading. This is the second successive year when Indian Railways have registered around 20 million tonnes or more of incremental revenue loading. Passenger traffic registered a growth of about 3% during the year. There has been an increase of Rs 240 crore over the earnings projected in the revised estimates and a savings of Rs 491 crore in the ordinary working expenses. The operating ratio of the Railways as per approximate actuals is likely to improve to 92.1% as against 94.1% budgeted for the year. The final accounts for the year are under compilation and indications through approximate figures are that there may be only a marginal variation. Plan expenditure is expected to be around Rs 13,311 crore. Despite the improved performance of the Railways I would not like to remain contented. Rather I would be striving to improve upon this performance further. With a commercial orientation, aggressive marketing and economy measures, the Railways would be continuously working towards further improving their financial performance. Safety Sir, the biggest challenge that Indian Railways face today is ensuring safe transit of passengers. I would like to assure the hon''ble members that safety in rail operations would be accorded the highest priority. As a result of various safety measures and sustained efforts, the number of consequential train accidents has come down from 473 in 2000-01 to 414 in 2001-02, 351 in 2002-03 and further 325 in 2003-04. This has been the lowest number of accidents ever, reflecting a considerable reduction in the year 2003-04 over 2000-01. The number of consequential train accidents per million train kilometres has also come down to 0.39 against the figure of 0.44 during the preceding year. The effort will be to bring this down even further. Special railway safety fund (SRSF) of Rs 17,000 crore was created wef 1.10.2001 to wipe out arrears in renewal of overaged assets viz., track, bridges, rolling stock & signalling gears besides safety enhancement works over a six-year period. Considerable progress has been made in the execution of works sanctioned under this fund â€” 8938 kilometres of track have been renewed up to 31.3.2004 out of the total target of 16,538 kilometres to be covered up to 31.3.2007. The work of replacement of over-aged signalling systems with modern systems has been completed at 441 stations. The work is in progress at 1,053 other stations. Interlocking at level crossings with signals has been completed at 387 gates during 2003-04, bringing the total of inter-locked level crossings to 7,095 out of 16,549 manned level crossings. With a view to reducing accidents at level crossings, provision of train actuated warning device (TAWD) has been undertaken at selected 90 level crossings. The device will warn road users and gatemen of the approaching train by emitting a siren and through flashing lights. Under SRSF, track circuiting works are in progress at about 5,300 locations. Work has so far been completed at about 1,700 locations. Railways have given very high priority to the work of rehabilitation and strengthening of old bridges. Of the 2,700 bridges to be rehabilitated or rebuilt through special railway safety fund, 1,306 bridges have been completed up to 31-3-2004. In the current year, 411 bridges are to be rehabilitated. Indian Railways have finalised a rational criteria for manning of unmanned level crossings based on the volume and nature of road and rail traffic at the level crossing and visibility conditions. It is planned to man over 1,280 unmanned level crossings over a period of time, with the more vulnerable level crossings being given priority. New measures for safety Block proving by axle counters, train protection and warning system and anti-collision device. Fresh initiative has been taken to introduce a system of â€˜electronic verificationâ€™ of complete arrival of train at stations by means of â€˜block provingâ€™ by axle counters along with a major thrust for development of indigenous digital axle counters for the first time in the country. The latter has been developed under a joint research project of the ministry of railways and department of science and technology. Railways have taken the initiative for provision of train protection and warning system (TPWS) for providing an aid to driver to prevent him from passing signals at danger as a safety measure. The system provides a warning to the driver of approaching a signal at danger and if the driver fails to react the system will apply brakes automatically. This proven and failsafe system is being provided on southern & north central Railways on approximately 280 track kilometres. Provision of Anti-Collision Devices (ACDs) on about 1,700 route kms of North-East Frontier Railway has been taken in hand and is likely to be completed during 2004-05. Safety on long welded rails Indian Railways have a substantial length of long and continuous welded rails. With a view to ascertain actual forces in them, it is proposed to develop field methods to measure actual forces occurring in rails so that necessary remedial action may be taken before unsafe conditions develop. Transportation of explosives and inflammable materials Incidents of fire in the coaches and luggage vans of passenger carrying trains during the recent past have caused serious concern. Prohibition on carriage of any type of explosives and inflammable materials including LPG cylinders, kerosene stoves, etc, other than those required for security purposes or by the armed forces, by any passenger carrying train will be strictly enforced. Institute of rescue & medical relief Disaster management has been recognised as a priority area on the Indian Railways. To strengthen the system, a number of initiatives are being taken. These include setting up of an Institute of rescue and medical relief at Bangalore. It is proposed to set up a project at a cost of Rs 10 crore to give a fillip to the training activities. This institute shall act as a repository for all modern extrication and medical relief techniques to ensure quicker rescue and provide prompt medical relief, comparable to international standards. Security Consequent upon the recent amendments to the Railways Act, 1989 & RPF Act, 1957, Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been entrusted with additional responsibilities for escorting passenger trains in vulnerable areas and to have control on access and regulation and general security at platforms to supplement the efforts of state police/GRP for enhanced security of the passengers. Both the amended Acts have come into force with effect from July 1, 2004. To start with, manpower has been withdrawn from certain less important activities so that passenger security takes precedence over protection of property. Accordingly, escorting of trains will be shared with GRP in the initial stages. Zonal general managers have been directed to chalk out the plans in this regard. To address the problem of shortage of personnel in the force to carry out the new duties, and to speed up the process of filling up of vacancies, it has been decided to restore the earlier procedure of direct recruitment by the security department itself instead of through railway recruitment boards. This will expedite the availability of manpower and strengthen the force. Skills of the existing personnel of RPF have been upgraded by giving them intensive re-orientation training at zonal training schools and RPF Academy. This training capsule is comprehensive and consists of legal provisions regarding arrest, seizure, personal attendance, summons, warrants, handling of prisoners, human rights violations, custodial care, gender justice, juvenile offenders, etc. Concern has been expressed about the cases of drugging of unwary passengers on the trains and robbing them of their belongings. Railways have taken certain measures to combat this menace by educating the public. In this connection I have instructed the RPF that they should try to identify the criminal gangs engaged in the crime of drugging and hand them over to the GRP. Modernisation Research projects in bridge engineering Indian Railways are interacting with various Indian Institutes of Technology and premier research institutes in India and abroad and advanced railway systems in the field of bridge engineering. It is proposed to take up research and development projects in areas of protection from earthquake and rehabilitation of bridges, residual life analysis for concrete and masonry bridges, high performance concrete and corrosion protection systems for bridges. Rehabilitation of arch bridges There are a large number of arch bridges on Indian Railways. A number of bridge improvement and rehabilitation measures have already been undertaken in the recent past. In addition, it is proposed to extend the useful life of a large number of arch bridges by about 25 years by adopting techniques in collaboration with International Union of Railways (UIC). Corrosion resistant wagons Corrosion in conventional wagons affects their availability and productivity and reduces their life. In order to overcome this problem, field trials of stainless wagons are in progress. In addition, it has been proposed to introduce aluminium body wagons and conduct field trials. This would result in reduced tare weight and higher payload per wagon as compared to the conventional wagons. Crew-friendly driverâ€™s cab and brake van Fatigue enhances vulnerability of drivers and guards to cause accidents. Improvement in the working conditions of such staff with a view to reduce their fatigue level on run is, therefore, a priority area for Indian Railways. A number of improvements have been standardised and are being incorporated in a phased manner in driverâ€™s cab and guardâ€™s brake van to make the working environment of crew better and improving efficiency. The new diesel locos and guardsâ€™ brake vans will be provided with these features. Modernisation of EMUs & electric locos Three-phase electric traction system based on most advanced insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) technology is proposed to be introduced for EMU trains in Mumbai suburban section. This system provides higher reliability and improved energy efficiency. Progressively this technology is also proposed to be developed for high horse power three phase electric locomotives. Strategic management institute There is a need to prepare railway managers to meet the future challenges in rail operations. This necessitates pooling of training resources available world over. It is, therefore, proposed to set up an International Railway Strategic Management Institute under the aegis of International Union of Railways (UIC). Computer-based centralised traffic control Under a project funded by German Development Bank (KfW) modern computer-based centralised traffic control (CTC) system is planned to be introduced for the first time on Ghaziabad-Kanpur high speed, high density route to improve safety and operation. Material management information system A pilot project on material management information system (MMIS) incorporating the on line exchange of information on material management has been successfully developed and implemented by central Railways. Now this system is proposed to be extended to all other zonal Railways for effective material management, which will improve material availability and turn over ratio. Introduction of information technology for permanent way materials management system has been done on 21 divisions so far. Setting up of infrastructure on balance 46 divisions is in advanced stages and is targeted for completion during the year. The system provides for proper and concurrent accountal of materials and facilitates accurate verification of physical stock including released material. Thus, the system improves efficiency and arrests leakage of revenue through theft, pilferage etc. E-procurement Railways are working towards adoption of E-procurement. A pilot project on northern Railways envisages putting all purchase activities on the internet, wherein issue of tenders, receipt of bids, issue of contracts etc would be done online. The introduction of this system will bring transparency and improve efficiency by way of reduced procurement time cycle and expeditious payment to suppliers. After successful completion of the pilot project on northern Railways, e-procurement will be extended to other zonal Railways. Improvements to claims management Railways have embarked on a programme of computerisation of â€˜claim officesâ€™ so as to provide on line information to claimants about the status of claims. This will help the customers to find unconnected consignments and will also be a powerful tool in reducing the duplication of claims. Computerised registration of claims in zonal railway headquarters has already been started from April 2004 and it is expected that full computerisation of claim offices will be completed during the current financial year. In order to help the rail users, the rules & procedures in connection with compensation claims in respect of both â€œaccidentâ€� and â€œloss/damage of goodsâ€� have been incorporated in the Indian Railways website. Simplification of refund procedure Under the normal rules, refund of unused tickets is admissible up to a maximum of 12 hours after departure of the train. In order to facilitate refund thereafter directly from the PRS terminals, a computerised coaching refund system has been started. Under the revised rules, refund shall be admissible on unused reserved and RAC tickets up to five days from the scheduled departure of the train from its originating station. Some zonal railways have started granting refund under this scheme. The project will be fully implemented during the current year. Unreserved ticketing system About 92% of the railway passengers travel without reservation in unreserved coaches in trains in the country. To help these railway passengers, Indian Railways have developed unreserved ticketing system (UTS). This system facilitates a passenger to buy a travelling ticket for any station from any of the selected railway stations three days in advance of the required date of journey. This system is proposed to be extended progressively on all zonal railways. I am very happy to share with this august House the news that the UTS has also won a prestigious award from a reputed international forum for using information technology to take great strides towards remarkable social achievement in transportation. Passenger reservation system Expansion of the passenger reservation system (PRS) available at nearly 1,100 locations in the country, will also be continued to help the passengers travelling by reserved compartments. Another 74 locations will be added this year. Parcel Services In order to improve the management of the parcel traffic, which generates earnings of about Rs 500 crore annually, it is necessary to computerise the working of the entire parcel system. To start with, a pilot project is being proposed this year at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore, linking Howrah and Delhi area in the major parcel traffic corridor of New Delhiâ€“Howrahâ€“Guwahati. This will result in better planning, expeditious clearance, easy tracing of parcels and thereby result in reduced over carriage and claims. Computerised parcel way bills and accurate calculation of charges will also be possible from the system. Freight operations information system Enthused by the success of the phase-I (rake management system) of the freight operations information system (FOIS) which has helped in better operation and wagon availability, it is proposed to cover commercial aspects of freight business this year by computerising the working of about 300 goods sheds and sidings. In this, the Railwaysâ€™ receipts will be computerised which will benefit merchants and industry in a big way as individual wagon tracking and electronic payments etc. will become possible. Coaching operations information system To improve the passenger traffic operations, the coaching stock management module (covering passenger coaches and parcel vans) of coaching operation information system (COIS) is proposed to be implemented this year. Punctuality module for better train monitoring and analysis of delay has already been implemented last year. Catering Railways are making all out efforts to improve the catering services by serving cleaner, healthier and tastier food to the passengers both at stations and on trains. Railways will also endeavour to make available wholesome milk and milk products at all catering outlets towards which a beginning has been made by serving â€œmatthaâ€� and â€œlassiâ€�. With a view to provide pure and wholesome products to the passengers and to give employment opportunities to dairy producers, as far as possible, these will be purchased from dairy units of co-operative sector. As far as other eatables are concerned, with a view to increase the earnings from the catering contracts, complete transparency and competitiveness will be ensured in the award of contracts. Improving cleanliness To improve cleanliness at stations and in trains, general managers of all the zonal railways have been directed to take special steps. A nationwide cleanliness drive has also been launched. In order to infuse a spirit of excellence, it has been decided to hold inter-divisional competition in which all the railway divisions will be evaluated by the headquartersâ€™ committees comprising of senior officers of concerned departments. The best divisions will be given the cleanliness efficiency shield. Best stations will also be selected and awarded. Where the cleanliness level is found to be unsatisfactory, responsibility will be fixed on the concerned officers and employees. As an environment-friendly measure, Railways are discouraging the use of plastics. To this end all the catering units have been directed to make available disposable Kulhars in place of plastic and thermocol cups. Apart from being more hygienic, this measure will also improve employment in the rural sector. Environment-friendly toilet system As per policy announced by the ministry of rural development, which envisages total sanitation by the year 2012 and elimination of open defecation all over the country, Indian Railways have taken up a project of development of an environment-friendly coach toilet discharge system, as a part of RDSOâ€™s technology mission on railway safety. According to Mahatma Gandhi, khadi is the symbol of Indiaâ€™s unity, economic independence and equality. In the poetic language of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru this ultimately is the uniform of the Indian independence. Giving this due regard, I have instructed that henceforth upholstery and linen exclusively of handloom/khadi variety should be procured. A new bookstall policy for Indian Railways has been formulated. In this policy a 25% reservation for allotment of bookstalls for SC/ST/OBC, minorities, war widows, those below the poverty line, physically challenged individuals, Railway employeesâ€™ widows has been introduced on â€˜Bâ€™, â€˜Câ€™ and â€˜Dâ€™ class stations. Unemployed graduates and their associations and philanthropic organisations only can get allotment on â€˜Bâ€™, â€˜Câ€™ and â€˜Dâ€™ class stations. At â€˜Aâ€™ class stations, a two packet tender system has been introduced. The new policy does away with the system of the sole selling rights and provides for a uniform tenure of five years. In order to arrest the declining trend of ground water availability, instructions have been issued to railways for strictly following the methods of water conservation through roof-top rain water harvesting. Better availability of rakes to customers Railway wagons are largely procured from wagon manufacturing units in the private as well as the public sector. Railwaysâ€™ have only a meagre capacity for manufacturing wagons in their workshops. In the last year, due to various reasons, there has been a considerable shortfall in supply of wagons, with private sector units complying with only two-thirds of the orders placed and public sector units only one-third. Against our requirement of 19,050 four-wheeler units of traffic wagons only 13,471 were manufactured in 2003-04. With the anticipated incremental loading, Railways have to take all steps to augment the wagon supply. I myself had a dialogue with the wagon manufacturers and impressed upon them the necessity to expedite supplies. Further, with the available infrastructure and manpower, railway workshops can manufacture wagons with marginal inputs. To meet the demand, apart from pursuing existing wagon manufacturers, wagon production will also be started at Jamalpur workshop which at present has the in-house capability to even manufacture 140 tonne crane. Nevertheless, Railways have surpassed their loading target with several measures to increase the availability of rakes. These measures include improvement in the handling capacity of freight terminals, control over the number of ineffective wagons, better management of terminals through the intensive use of freight operations information system (FOIS) and impressing upon the customers to reduce detention of rakes at the terminals. We now propose to encourage rail users to adopt round-the-clock loading and unloading of rakes at terminals. Thrust on export/import traffic through port connectivity The Railway is giving a thrust on export/import traffic by speedy evacuation of incoming traffic from the ports and making available additional wagons and containers for outgoing export cargo. The Railway is also investing through the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd to provide hinterland rail connectivity to both existing as well as new ports under development, to further give a boost to such traffic. Roll-on-roll-off scheme (RoRo) Konkan Railway runs a roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo) scheme whereby trucks are loaded on a train at the rate of one truck per wagon, at a point and transported to their destination. This provides a door-to-door multimodal service with greater customer satisfaction besides being more fuel efficient and eco-friendly than through movement by trucks. Railways have initiated the process to develop special wagons which will enable more than one truck to be carried in each wagon to optimise utilisation of assets. The Railways will consider introduction of this service once the wagon design is finalised. Transportation of milk, vegetables and fruits Railways will encourage a higher level of movement of milk by tankers from the various regions of the country. As milk is a perishable commodity, these tankers will be attached to suitable trains. To provide better services for transportation of fruits, vegetables and other perishable commodities, more refrigerated parcel vans will progressively be introduced on the railways. Concessions Concession to widows of defence personnel killed in action against terrorists/extremists The widows of policemen and para-military personnel killed in action against terrorists/extremists are eligible for 75% concession in second and sleeper classes. However, the widows of defence personnel in the similar circumstances, are not eligible for the same. With a view to recognising the sacrifices by the defence personnel who get killed in action against terrorists/extremists, it is proposed to grant the same concession to the widows of defence personnel as granted to widows of policemen and para-military personnel. Concession to deaf/dumb persons A deaf and dumb person is allowed 50% concession in first, second and sleeper classes as well as in season tickets. However, there is no provision of rail concession for an escort accompanying the deaf and dumb person. Considering the need for an escort with a person who is both deaf and dumb, it is proposed to grant the same concession to the escort as allowed to a deaf and dumb person. Concession to haemophilia patients It is proposed to grant rail concession to persons suffering with severe or moderate haemophilia disease when they travel for treatment/check up in the recognised hospitals. The element of concession will be 75% in the second/sleeper/first/AC chair car and AC 3-tier classes. Escort, if any, travelling with the patient will also be eligible for the same concession. Free travel facility to unemployed youths In the budget speech of 1998-99, it was announced that unemployed youth attending interviews for selection to central government jobs will be given full concession in second class on production of a certified copy of call letter and application. Due to unavoidable reasons, this could not be implemented. It is now proposed to implement the proposal of giving full concession, as was announced earlier. Projects During the year 2003-04, 1,222 km of BG lines were added to the Railway system. I am happy to inform the House that the long-pending project of Jammu-Udhampur has been completed. This will go a long way in the overall development of the Jammu & Kashmir state. The progress of the new line project Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla has also been expedited and the stretches between Udhampur-Katra and Qazigund-Baramulla are likely to be completed during 2005-06. So far as the targets for completion of projects for the current year is concerned, equal importance is being given to all the regions of the country. Accordingly, the work of new line from Jiribam to Imphal (Tupul) which was sanctioned in the course of last year is being taken up. The conversion of Lumding-Silchar MG line and work of new line from Kumarghat to Agartala will also be expedited and a programme will be made out for their time bound completion. I would also like to make a special mention that the needs of the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other states, like, Orissa, Punjab, West Bengal, where there has been a perceived sense of neglect about railway development works, will be adequately taken care of and adequate funds will be made available for satisfactory progress of the ongoing works in the current year. For the year 2004-05, a target of addition of nearly 1650 kms of BG lines has been set. New Lines I am happy to state that new lines Panvel-Karjat, Sasaram-Nokha, Jagdishpur-Tilaiya, Kakdweep-Namkhana and Una-Churaru-Takrala have been completed. In 2004-05, Railways propose to complete 273 km of new lines including following sections: i)Amravati-Chandurbazar of Amravati-Narkher ii)Rajgir-Natesar of Rajgir-Tilaiya iii)Nokha-Sanjauli of Ara-Sasaram iv)Banka-Barahat of Deogarh-Sultanganj v)Chandigarh-Morinda of Chandigarh-Ludhiana vi)Kakinada-Kotipalli vii)Kanthi-Digha of Tamluk-Digha viii)Mahendralalnagar-Amta of Howrah-Amta, Hassan-Shravanabelagola and Bangalore-Neelamangala of Bangalore-Hassan On completion of the last segment of Tamluk-Digha new line project, the famous tourist resort of Digha will have rail connectivity. The completion of Chandigarh-Morinda section of the Chandigarh-Ludhiana project would provide a shorter, direct link between Chandigarh and Anandpursahib. The famous Jain pilgrimage centre of Shravanabelagola would also get connected with the rail network. The pending projects of Kakinada-Kotapalli restoration and Howrah-Amta are also getting completed. Gauge conversion During 2003-04, gauge conversions of New Jalpaiguri-Samukhtala Road, Bandikui-Bharatpur, Jasai-Munabao, Kabakaputtur-Subramanya Road, Villupuram-Pondicherry, Rajpalaiyam-Tenkasi, Vadalur-Cuddalore, Thanjavur-Kumbakonam, Junagarh-Veraval and Dhola-Bhavnagar have been completed. During the year 2004-05, a target of completion of 1,000 km of gauge conversion has been proposed which include the following sections: i) Mansi-Saharsa ii) Bharatpur-Agra Fort of Agra Fort-Bandikui iii)Udaipur-Chittaurgarh of Ajmer-Udaipur iv) Samukhtala Road-New Bongaigaon of New Jalpaiguri- New Bongaigaon v) Manoharabad-Nizamabad of Secunderabad-Mudkhed vi) Adilabad-Kinwat of Mudkhed-Adilabad vii)Gondia-Balaghat of Jabalpur-Gondia viii) Ranchi-Lohardaga ix) Rupsa-Baripada of Rupsa-Bangriposi x) Bankura-Sonamukhi of Bankura Damodar River railway line xi) Madurai-Manamadurai of Madurai-Rameswaram xii) Thanjavur-Thiruvarur of Trichy-Nagore-Karaikal xiii) Subramanya-Sakleshpur of Hassan-Mangalore xiv) Bijapur-Bagalkot of Solapur-Gadag xv)Sihor-Palitana of Surendranagar-Pipavav xvi)Viramgam-Mehsana of Bhildi-Viramgam xvii) Barsoi-Radhikapur of Katihar-Jogbani and Katihar-Radhikapur With the completion of above works, the gauge conversion projects of Hassan-Mangalore and Agra Fort-Bandikui are getting completed. The famous lake city of Udaipur would get connected with the broad gauge rail network thereby facilitating the tourist traffic in this area especially that moving by Palace on Wheels. The completion of gauge conversion of Samukhtala-New Bongaigaon section would provide two BG lines between New Jalpaiguri and Guwahati thereby meeting the demands of traffic moving to and from north-eastern region. The completion of Secunderabad-Mudkhed project will provide an alternative shorter direct route to Mumbai. Doubling During 2003-04 doublings of 206 km have been completed, while for the year 2004-05, a target of 381 km have been proposed. In Kerala, the impetus for progressing with the doubling of Mangalore-Shoranur is being maintained and 30 km in Calicut-Shoranur portion will be doubled in the current year. In Punjab, doubling of Suchipind-Bhogpur, Madhopur-Bharoli and Mukerian-Mirthal of Jallandhar-Jammu Tawi project are slated for completion during the year. With the completion of Ahmedpur-Sainthia, the entire Khana-Sainthia route in West Bengal will get doubled. The doubling of Hospet-Tornagallu-Bellary and Hagari-Guntakal will augment capacity on Hospet-Guntakal section, falling in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh boosting iron ore movement. Doublings of Amroha-Moradabad, Manikpur-Kataidandi in Uttar Pradesh and Barauni-Tilrath, Seemapur-Katihar and Mansi-Maheshkunt in Bihar would add to the line capacity on certain congested routes. Besides these, some other sections are also targeted for doubling adding up to a total of 381 km. Hon''ble members will be happy to know that doublings of Pandabeswar-Chinpain, Jaipur-Phulera, Bilaspur-Salka Road, Chhapra-Ekma and Gonda-Mankapur have been included in the budget. The completion of these works is expected to ease the traffic flow and generate additional capacity on some of the saturated routes. Surveys I had written to the hon''ble members about the rail projects and other rail facility works in progress in their state. There have been demands from the hon''ble members for expansion of rail network in various parts of the country. Based on these demands, following surveys are proposed for inclusion in the budget: I New surveys for the following new lines are being taken up: i) Machlipattnam-Repalli ii) Jaggiyapet-Vishnupuram iii) Rayadurg-Tumkur via Kalyandurg iv) Tindivanam-Nagari via Vandivash,Cheyyar, Arani, Arcot, Ranipet, Walajahpet, Sholinghur, R.K. Pet, Podatur, Pallipattu v) Bariarpur and Mananpur via Kharagpur-Laxmipur-Barhat vi) Sultanganj and Katoria via Asarganj, Tarapore, Belhar vii) Ara-Bhabua Road viii) Chhapra-Muzaffarpur via Garkha,Maker and Rewaghat ix) Hathua-Deoria via Line Bazar, Salarkhurd, Phulwaria, Bathua Bazar, Pandeuri, Bhagipatti, Samhour,Katea x) Parwanoo to Darlaghat xi) Kandra to Namkom xii) Buramara -Chakulia xiii) Chennai-Sriperumbudur via Poonamalli xiv) Budge Budge-Pujali xv) Chowrigacha to Kandi xvi) Balurghat-Hilli xvii) Samsi-Chanchal-Harishchandrapur xviii) Tirur-Angadipuram II Surveys for the following new lines are being updated: i) Ongole-Donakonda ii) Nadikudi-Sri Kalahasti iii) Bhadrachallam-Kovvur iv) Cuddapah to Bangalore via Madanapalli v) Bihariganj-Kursela via Rupauli, Dhamdaha vi) Bihariganj-Simribakhtiarpur vii) Motihari to Sitamarhi via Shivhar viii) Madhepura-Singheshwarasthan-Karjayen-Bhimnagar ix) Bhanupalli-Bilaspur x) Chatra-Gaya xi) Gotegaon to Ramtek via Seoni xii) Phalodi-Nagaur xiii) Ratlam-Banswara via Dungarpur xiv) Bilara-Bar xv) Pushkar-Merta Road xvi) Ujjain-Jhalawar/ Ramganjmandi xvii) Jolarpettai-Hosur via Dharmapuri xviii) Agartala-Sabroom xix) Rishikesh-Doiwala xx) Jhargram-Purulia xxi) Golagokaran Nath- Shahjanpur via Mohammadi xxii) Galgalia-Supaul via Araria IIINew Surveys for conversion of the following lines to broad gauge are being taken up: i) Baraigram-Kumarghat ii) Ankleswar-Rajpipla iii) Katwa-Ahmedpur iv) Aluabari-Siliguri via Galgalia IVSurveys for gauge conversion of the following lines are being updated: i) Miyagam-Dabhoi-Samlaya ii) Samni-Jambusar-Veshwamatri and Jambusar-Kavi iii) Kolar-Chickballapur iv) Dindigul-Pollachi-Coimbatore and Pollachi-Palghat v) Ratlam-Mhow via Indore vi) Dholpur-Sirmuttra with extension up to Gangapur City vii) Loharu-Sikar-Churu-Ringus-Jaipur & Suratpura.

Laloo's budget makes everyone smile

I rise to present the Budget Estimates for 2004-05 for the Indian Railways.

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