Highlights of Rail Budget 2009-10

 At a Glance

● Passenger and freight rates left unchanged across the board.
● Railways earn net revenue of Rs. 8,121 crore in 2008-09.
● Railways to pay higher dividend of Rs. 5,479 crore to the Centre in FY 2010.
● Tatkal charges reduced from Rs. 150 to Rs. 100.
● Cash surplus of Rs. 17,400 crore before dividend.
● Railways have investible surplus of Rs. 12,681 crore.
● Annual plan expenditure pegged at Rs. 36,336 crore.
● Ladies' specials on suburban train routes during peak hours.
● 'Izzat' monthly tickets of Rs. 25 (for up to 100 km travel) for people from the unorganised sector with an income of less than
Rs. 1,500 per month.
● New coach factory at Kanchrapara in West Bengal.
● Cold storage facilities for farmers to store vegetables and fruits.
● Talks to take over ailing wagon manufacturing units.
● 18,000 wagons to be acquired during the current year.
● Railway medical colleges and rail hospitals on public-private partnership basis.
● Student concession will cover madrassa students.
● Special coaches for disabled and aged people.
● 50 Railway stations, including CST Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Howrah, Sealdah, Varanasi, New Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kanpur,
Chennai Central, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Secunderabad, Bangalore, Byappanahalli, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Habibganj, Agra
Central, Chandigarh, Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, Puri and Kochi, will be developed to have world-class facilities.
● 375 stations to be upgraded as 'Adarsh' stations, with basic facilities such as drinking water, toilets and ladies' dormitories.
● Availability of doctors on-board long-distance trains.
● On-board infotainment services to be provided.
● 6,560 staff quarters to be constructed in 2009-10.
● High-capacity double-decker A/C trains to be introduced.
● 57 new trains to be introduced.
● 12 non-stop trains to be introduced.
● Accredited journalists to get 50% rebate; also once a year with spouse.
● 1,000 MW power plant proposed in tribal area Adra.
● Unreserved ticketing terminals to be expanded from 5000 to 8000. Automatic ticket vending machines to be increased.
Arrangement with Department of Posts for issuance of tickets.
● SMS updates to be made available for passengers to check train status and reservation status.
● Auto-vending machines to be installed in large and medium stations.
● E-ticket cancellation system to be simplified.

Interim Budget 2009-10 Highlights