LOK SABHA SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than ...

LOK SABHA
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SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES
(Proceedings other than Questions & Answers)
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 / Phalguna 30, 1933 (Saka)
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INTRODUCTION OF MINISTER
THE PRIME MINISTER (DR. MANMOHAN SINGH) introduced his
Cabinet colleague Shri Mukul Roy to the House who has recently been inducted in
the Council of Ministers as the Minister of Railways.
STATEMENT BY MINISTER
Re: Accident at unmanned railway crossing near Hathras, North-Eastern
Railways, resulting in loss of Human lives
THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MUKUL ROY): I am pained
to apprise the House regarding an unfortunate incident that occurred today at an
Unmanned Level Crossing wherein one mini van carrying 22 persons and a dead
body dashed against Train No. 51976 Mathura - Kasganj Passenger at about 07.23
hours on 20.03.2012 between Hathras City and Mendu stations of Mathura-
Kasganj section of Izzatnagar Division of North Eastern Railway. In this incident,
15 persons travelling in the mini van lost their lives and three persons suffered
injuries, whereas four persons jumped out of the van and saved themselves. This

incident took place at a 'C' class unmanned level crossing with very low traffic
density (1050 Train Vehicle Unit as per Census done in November, 2009). No
passenger travelling in the train was injured or killed in this incident.
Medical Relief was immediately despatched through an Accident Relief
Medical Train (ARME) which departed Kasganj at 07.55 hours and reached the
site of occurrence at 09.15 hours. However, local public and civil authorities had
shifted the injured to nearby hospital by the time the ARME reached the site. The
injured were moved to a local hospital at Badhwa and those requiring special
medical attention were sent to Medical College at Aligarh. General Manager,
North Eastern Railway and Divisional Railway Manager, Izzatnagar have
proceeded to the site of the accident.
As per preliminary information received, the incident occurred due to the
negligent driving by the driver of the mini van. The driver did not stop his van at
the Stop Board short of level crossing to check for approaching train as prescribed
in the Section 131 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
On humanitarian grounds, an ex gratia amount of rupees two lakh each to
the next of the kin of deceased, Rs.50,000 to the grievously injured and Rs.25,000
to persons who sustained simple injury has been announced.
On behalf of Railways and myself, I express deep condolences to the
bereaved families and also express sincere sympathies to the injured. I trust the
House will join me in extending heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.

* MATTERS UNDER RULE 377
(i) SHRI P. VISWANATHAN laid a statement regarding need to open
a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Kancheepuram city, Tamil Nadu.
(ii) SHRI VILAS MUTTEMWAR laid a statement regarding need to
accord approval for the establishment of Academy of Scientific and
Innovative Research at Nagpur, Maharashtra.
(iii) SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL laid a statement regarding need to start
construction of Theme Park immediately at Kapilvastu in Siddharth
Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
(iv) SHRI MANICKA TAGORE laid a statement regarding need to
promote and explore use of wind energy in Tamil Nadu to address the
problem of shortage of power in the State.
(v) SHRI R. DHRUVANARAYANA laid a statement regarding need to
include Soliga Tribe living in the Chamarajanagar Parliamentary
Constituency, Karnataka in the list of Primitive Tribal Groups.
(vi) SHRIMATI BOTCHA JHANSI LAKSHMI laid a statement
regarding need to permit export of additional 20 lakh bales of cotton.
* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker.

(vii) SHRI BHOOPENDRA SINGH laid a statement regarding need to
undertake repair of National Highway No. 86 between Makronia to
Chhattarpur in Madhya Pradesh.
(viii) SHRI VIRENDRA KUMAR laid a statement regarding need to
repair and re-construct NH 76 on Jhansi-Chhattarpur-Bamitha section
and NH 84 between Kanpur-Dewas.
(ix) SHRI HARIN PATHAK laid a statement regarding need to set up a
Coast Guard Station at Hazira, Gujarat to strengthen maritime
security.
(x) SHRI SURESH ANGADI laid a statement regarding need to abolish
the system of collection of entry tax in cantonment areas of Belgaum,
Karnataka.
(xi) SHRI R. K. SINGH PATEL laid a statement regarding need to
provide free irrigation and power facilities to farmers in the country
particularly in Bundelkhand region.
(xii) DR. SHAFIQUR RAHMAN BARQ laid a statement regarding need
to set up police booth in the vicinity of the residences of Members of
Parliament in Delhi to ensure safety from anti-social elements and
burglars.
(xiii) SHRI VISHWA MOHAN KUMAR laid a statement regarding need
to provide adequate compensation to families displaced due to

acquisition of their land for construction of bridge on river Kosi in
Bihar.
(xiv) SHRI SUVENDU ADHIKARI laid a statement regarding need to
connect Mecheda with Ranichak and Haldia through NH 41 in West
Bengal.
(xv) SHRIMATI J. HELEN DAVIDSON laid a statement regarding need
to enhance security and welfare of fishermen in the country.
(xvi) SHRI M. VENUGOPALA REDDY laid a statement regarding need
to establish a Chilli Board in Palnadu area of Guntur district, Andhra
Pradesh.
(xvii) DR. RAGHUVANSH PRASAD SINGH laid a statement regarding
need to repair National Highway from Chhapra to Muzaffarpur and
from Muzaffarpur to Barauni in Bihar.
(xviii) SHRI BALIRAM JADHAV laid a statement regarding need to
expedite constrtuction of railway line between Dahanu and Nasik,
introduction MEMU service between Dahanu and Valsad and EMU
service between Dahanu and Churchgate in Maharashtra.
THE BUDGET (RAILWAYS) – 2012-13-GENERAL DISCUSSION
DEMANDS FOR GRANTS ON ACCOUNT (RAILWAYS) – 2012-13

SUPPLEMENTARY DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (RAILWAYS)- 2011-12
AND
DEMANDS FOR EXCESS GRANTS (RAILWAYS)-2009-10
SHRIMATI SUMITRA MAHAJAN initiating the discussion, said:
whenever railway budget is presented, the entire country expects it to be the budget
for the entire country but in practice we get to see that whenever railway budget is
presented then only populist announcements are made and budget is rendered to be
merely an arrangement for providing facilities to one’s own region. The priorities
of the budget keep on changing continuously. I would appreciate the former
Minister for setting up two committees which considered over the modernization
and safety aspects of the Railways in a manner that projects are not divided and
they are formulated in a wholesome manner. The first sentence of the report
submitted by the Anil Kakodakar committee is that the financial state of Indian
Railways is on the brink of collapse unless some concrete measures are taken. The
second committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Sam Pitroda has
remarked “At present, the Indian Railways is close to falling into the vicious circle
of diminishing efficiency, falling safety standards, eroding share in national freight
and passenger traffic and possibly ending up as a burden on the national economy
instead of being its bulwark and vital support”. It has also talked about fifteen
focus areas. The Minister of Railways in his budget speech has remarked that
these focus areas will require an amount of Rs. 5.6 lakh crore if we want to

implement and improve it fully. Similarly, Vision-2020 require an amount of Rs.
14 lakh crore over a period of ten years which means that an amount of Rs. 1.4
lakh crore is required every year. However, the budget we have in our hand today
has a provision of 60 thousand and 100 crore rupees only which is about 42 per
cent of the annual amount we are talking about. Now the question arises is that
even though very ambitious schemes have been formulated and Expert Committees
have been constituted but what do we have on our hands today? The amount
allocated under various schemes is ridiculously low as compared to the
requirement. In this budget, there is a target of increasing the freight by 5.6 per
cent to take it upto 1025 million metric tonnes which was 970 million metric
tonnes last year. There is also a mention of increasing the passenger fare. By
taking all these measures, there is a target of earning Rs. 1 lakh 32000 crore.
Target of 27.6 per cent increase in revenue earnings is sought to be achieved by
Railways. A very rosy picture has been painted. However, I would like to know
whether any attention has been paid as to how much inflation increase it will lead
to. Freight rates were suddenly revised while issuing a notification on 6 th of March
under which not only the slabs of the freight carriage in kilometer were changed
but the foodgrains were also taken out of the concession advantage being enjoyed
under category 130A implying that pulses, rice, wheat etc. will share the increase
of revised freight rate. It is well known that transportation cost upto 15% is added
to the final cost of goods. If such an addition takes place, it will result in an

increase of 56 paise per kilogram and taking into account the profit component,
foodgrains will become costlier by Rs. One to one and half per kilograms. Such
will be the extent of inflation. Not only the foodgrains will become costlier but
coal will also become dearer resulting in increased cost of power generation which
will ultimately be borne by the common man. The expert committees have also
suggested for setting up of several authorities. It will lead to loss of credibility and
dampen the pace of work. Particular attention has to be paid towards this aspect.
Besides, the issue of PPP project has also come to the fore. However, PPP has to
be understood in its true essence in that the partners have to meet their respective
responsibilities and taking advantage of concessionary regime should not be the
only motive for such partnership. It has been seen quite often that officers tend to
join corporation after their retirement. This aspect need to be paid particular
attention while forming PPP projects, else Indian Railways is going to meet the
fate of Indian Airlines. Now, I would like to talk about pending projects. Several
projects are announced but they are not completed due to lack of fund allocation. I
would like to quote the example of Indore-Dahod via Maxi-Devas in my
constituency which is a tribal area. The initial cost of the project was Rs. 370 crore
which has been escalated to Rs. 1470 crore. What is the allocation for it? It ranges
from merely Rs. 40 to 70 crore. We need to seriously ponder over as to how these
projects can be completed in such a situation. Madhya Pradesh is being ignored in
the matter of Railways. There was a project in Bundelkhand from Bhind to

Harpalpur-Mahoba for which survey work was completed during Atalji’s
Government but nothing has come out of it. Similarly, there are several other
projects like Guna-Itawa and Bhind-Itawa etc. on which no attention is being paid.
No allocation of funds is being made for the projects in Madhya Pradesh.
Introduction of a train between Indore-Bangalore is a long pending demand.
Similarly, Indore-Pune express has not been made regular. We had made a
demand to extend the Reevanchal express upto Indore but it has not been done. At
last, I would like to conclude by saying that Railways require a thorough surgery to
regain health.
SHRI P. C. CHACKO: I am very glad to support this Budget that this
House has got an opportunity to discuss a Budget which is futuristic, growth-
oriented and has taken into consideration all the concerns of the Indian Railway,
the third largest Railway network in the world. Before I go into the Budget in the
background of the criticism against the Budget, I feel that finding fault with others,
one should look inwards. The requirement of the Indian Railway is huge. The
amount required is very huge and the money provided is very little. This year’s
Railway Budget is Rs. 1,13,461 crores and we have to compare this Budget with
the previous year’s Budget, not that with the requirements. Whether it is the
General Budget or the Railway Budget, requirement is so huge and our resources
are limited. In spite of all the shortcomings, in spite of all the problems of
resource mobilization Railways could keep the balance today and Rs.1,13,000

crore is being raised with the Budgetary support also from the internal resource
mobilization and, of course, a small sum of money is taken from the market as
borrowings. This is an improvement on the previous year’s Budget. In budget the
focus was on safety and modernization. This Budget has drawn its strength from
the two committees constituted by the Railway Ministry, that is, the Anil Kakodkar
Committee and the Sam Pitroda Committee. The Anil Kakodkar Committee has
given a detailed road map about how the safety can be ensured along with a time-
bound programme. It needs almost Rs. 5 lakh crore for implementing the safety
aspect. All the un-manned level crossings in this country are to be eliminated in
five years. The modern technology can help the braking system and the signaling
system. That modernization scheme is being prepared by Shri Sam Pitroda. We
need Rs.14 lakh crore for the modernization of the Indian Railways. Where would
the money come from? Today, if the Railway is short of anything, it is investment.
The marginal investment which we are making every year will not help the
situation. Government of India gave Rs.24,000 crore as gross budgetary support to
the Railways. Definitely we an ask more. Railways needs more. We have devised
the PPP mode. It is a fact that Indian Railway system has to be developed not only
with the Railways’ own resources but with the private participation also. Today
the airports at Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru or wherever, are on
par with the international airports. It became possible because of public-private
participation. The money is available with the people and that should be mobilized

through the PPP mode. I come to the fare revision in the Railways. In these last
ten years, all the parties sitting here – BJP, Congress, Left and other were ruling in
different States. Can they say how many times they increased the fares of the
buses of the State Transport Corporation, taxies and auto-rickshaws? It may be at
least half-a-dozen times. We are all concerned here about the health of the
Railways and how it could be developed. So, as a whole, we cannot say that the
entire fare increase in unreasonable. We can think of a marginal roll back. The
House can collectively decide where we have to reduce the fare but we should not
come to the conclusion that the entire fare revision is unreasonable. Tomorrow we
will have to see that the Railway is developing. Today, the operating ratio of
Railways is 95 per cent. What does it mean? It means that to make Rs.100 the
Railways has to invest Rs.95. The Budget says that in the current year, that is, in
2012 we want to bring down the operating ratio to 84.9 per cent or say 85 per cent.
It not a small thing. The internal resources can be generated. We can borrow from
the market. But before borrow, we need money. That money has to come from the
public, private sources and market. Today, there is a Metro Railway in Delhi.
What is the share of the Central Government? What is the share of the State
Governments? The 60 per cent of money is borrowed from international agencies.
Wherever money is available to borrow, we have to borrow it. We cannot expect
growth without investment. This Budget, which was presented by Shri Dinesh
Trivedi, is also on the basis of Vision 20:20. It means that what is the road map of

Indian Railways for the next 20 years. We do not have sufficient money for
passenger facilities. The passenger facility means renovation of the railway
stations. Most of the Railway stations in far-flung areas of the country are not
maintained properly. We from Kerala are undertaking the longest journey in the
country to reach the Capital. But we have got only one train. Yeshvantpur train
which is culminating at Kannur may be extended to Calicut. We also demanded a
train from Mumbai through Konkan to Kerala. The Konkan Railway is a
partnership of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. On this line, there is still
space for one more additional train to come from Mumbai to Kerala. There was a
mention about a coach factory. I hope that the Railways will take the Palakkad
Coach Factory seriously. The provision may be increased for this Coach Factory.
Railways are short of wagons. They have decided to have wagons factories in
some places. We have given land in Alleppey and every facility was given to the
Railways. We also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding also. There is
no mention of this Wagon Factory at Alleppey. One day you may travel with us in
the coaches of the trains that are south-bound. The cleanliness and the facilities of
the coaches are very inadequate. The coaches that are discarded in other sectors
are being sent to the South. This system should be changed. Railways have got
invaluable railway properties all over India. We can mobilize money by utilizing
the railway property in a commercial manner. If the railway property, which is
very valuable, is commercially exploited, then we can get good revenue from this

property. Towards this end, I would like to submit that there is a pit-line proposal
in Calicut in West Hill and there is a railway property which is a very valuable
property. I appreciate the futuristic plan of the Railways. With these words, I
support the Railway Budget.
SHRI REWATI RAMAN SINGH: Railway is the largest public sector
undertaking employing millions of people but I regret to say that even after 64
years of Independence, the Railways is afflicted of its plights. The situation has
come to such a pass that it is able to run only with the monetary support provided
in General Budget. Otherwise, it will fail and will continue to incur loss. It has
many reasons. Every new minister brings with him/her plethora of declaration
about introducing new rails and launching new rail schemes but they all go half
way and hardly any of the commitments made by any of those railway ministers
are fulfilled in toto. A demand to connect Mainpuri with Etawah was outstanding
for years which, possibly, has been included in the current Budget. The
announcements of railway projects should be implemented in time-bound manner.
Former Minister of Railways had said that the recommendations of the Kakodar
Committee and the Pitroda Committee would be implemented in toto. I believe
that time-bound implementation of the recommendations will lead to zero accident
situation. Today, an accident occurred at an unmanned level crossing at Hathras in
Uttar Pradesh claiming 14 lives. The Government should provide maximum
assistance to the families of the deceased. The increase in fares of general class

and sleeper class should be rolled back. There is a great need of improvement in
catering and the toilet facilities in railways. Mamataji had announced to upgrade
Allahabad station to a multiplex station which is yet to be done. She had also said
that a medical college for railway employees would come up. But work on that is
yet to be started. At least two bullet trains, one from Kolkata to Delhi and the
other from Mumbai to Delhi should be introduced. Work on western corridor has
started but on eastern corridor, no work has started as yet. It should be started at
the earliest. Land acquisition is the most difficult task. I would like to suggest that
one person from every land loser family should be given employment in the
railways so that they don’t resist in giving away their land. The Government will
have to develop infrastructure to run the trains at a speed of 200 km. per hour.
Otherwise, there would be accidents. About 30 to 50 crore people from all over
the world visit Allahabad Kumbh fair. Lifts and escalators should be provided and
ramps should be constructed for the facility of the passengers at the stations in all
the metropolitan cities and especially at Allahabad. Duronto train runs only three
days in a week. In view of the Kumbh fair, it should be made a daily train. There
is only one direct train from Delhi to Allahabad i.e. Prayag Raj Express. It will be
a great convenience if it is scheduled to depart in the morning time from platform
no.16. One Duronto train should also be introduced from Allahabad to Kolkata.
One train each from Allahabad to Jammu and Allahabad to Bangalore should be
introduced. An ROB at Rambagh should be constructed immediately. Kanpur

Shatabdi Express should be extended upto Allahabad and stoppage should be
provided at Etawah in up and down. Triveni train which runs from Lucknow to
Mirzapur should be provided stoppage at Karchhana in my constituency.
Allahabad-Kanpur Intercity Express runs with one rake only, it should be provided
two rakes. A direct train from Balia to Delhi should be introduced.
DR. KIRODI LAL MEENA: The railway fares have not been increased for
the last 8-9 years due to which the Railways have incurred a loss of 40-50%. Now,
the Minister of Railways has made an announcement regarding increase in
passenger fares and this compensates to around 10%. The Minister of Railways
has made an announcement for developing around 100 stations on the lines of the
development of airports which is a good step. Another good thing is that a
separate Indian Railway Authority will be constituted now which will look after
the railway projects. Not much attention has been paid towards increasing the
railway network. Not much has been given to Rajasthan in this Railway Budget.
In my parliamentary constituency, a project relating to laying of a railway
line from Dausa to Gangapur city is going on at a snail’s pace for the last 15 years
which is an important link. No budgetary provision has been made this year with a
view to complete this project. I demand that necessary fund may be provided for
this purpose. Same situation is with regard to Dhaulpur-Karauli railway line, funds
should also be provided for completing this railway line so that the backward area
of Dang could develop.

SHRI PAKAURI LAL: I oppose the railway fare hike in every class for the
people who are already reeling under the burden of price hike. There are a number
of people from Poorvanchal in my parliamentary constituency, Robertsganj, but
they face many difficulties due to shortage of drains.
It is requested to provide stoppage and change the routes of following trains
in public interest:
• Prayagraj Express which runs from Delhi to Allahabad should be
extended upto Shaktinagar (Sonbhadra), U.P.
• Varanasi-Singrauli Inter-city train No. 13345/13346 should be run
from Varanasi to Shaktinagar and should be linked with Gorakhpur
Varanasi train No. 15103/15104 from both the sides.
• The route of train no. 12537/12538, Bapu Dham Express should be
extended upto Shaktinagar East-Central Railway via Chunar-
Chaupan.
* SHRI GAJANAN D. BABAR: During the last ten years the entire
complexion of Pune has changed. The influx of population to Pune from various
parts of the country is continuously increasing. That is why it is necessary to start
new trains from thee for the facility of passengers. Frequency of Jodhpur and
Jaipur Express trains from Pune should be increased. Pune-Ratnagiri-Sawantwadi
train should be started. Railway stations at Hadapsar and Chinchwad should be set
* Original in Marathi

up so that congestion at Pune station will be reduced. For suburban passengers,
smart card facility should be introduced. The proposal of metro railway for Pune
city and adjoining are should be finalized. The condition of goods sheds of Satara,
Karad, Sangli-Miraj is very pathetic. Railways should construct its own godowns
for storing fertilizers, food grains, sugar and cement. The work of new office of
Pune railway station should be completed at the earliest. Pune City-Shirdi and
Pune-Chennai Superfast express should be introduced. Intercity Express should be
started for Nanded, Solapur and Ratnagiri. New trains from Pune to Chandrapur
and Pune to Guwahati should be started. Pune-Delhi Duranto Express should be
converted into daily train. Pune-Kolhapur Shatabdi Express and Pune-Savantwadi
train should be started. Superfast Express should be started from Pune to Chennai
and Bangalore. Purna Express, Pune-Ernakulam Express, Pune-Lucknow and
Pune-Jaipur Express should run at least thrice a week. A separate terminal at
Manjari or Daund should be established. Pune has made lot of progress in IT and
industry sector, still the demands of people of Pune in regard to railways are
always neglected. People of Pune are expecting that their demands will be
considered.
SHRI JOSE K. MANI: I would like to request for setting up a new
coaching terminus at Kottayam Railway Station. To my great disappointment, I
would like to stress the strategic importance Kottayam railway station. Necessary
work on new coaching terminus at Kottayam railway station be initiated by

allocation of token funds for coaching centre in the current budget. There is a
constant flow of pilgrims converging into Kottayam railway station. It was
proposed to construct a pilgrim shelter at Kottayam railway station. It is very
disappointing that till now no work has been initiated on this project. The pilgrim
shelter project will be taken up with work and location specific fund allocation
made in the current budget. I request that multi functional complex project be
taken up on priority and work initiated for inviting bids. It is essential to take up
development work on these Adarsh stations falling in my constituency during the
current budget year. It would be beneficial to the travelling public if the existing
passenger rakes running on Kollam and Ernakulam section. It is discomforting to
note that more than 480 ongoing projects of capacity addition nature are far behind
the deadline set for completion. It would be prudent not to embark on new
capacity augmentation projects until the backlogs are cleared. It is imperative that
the workforce be given proper orientations towards railway safety and upgradation
of their skills be made a continuous process.
SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH: 19 new trains should be introduced
in Jharkhand and frequency of 24 trains should be increased. A railway zone
should be set up in Dhanbad and along with it Railway Divison office should be
opened in Sahebang and Bokaro should be brought under the Dhanbad railway
division. Rail connectivity should be provided from Dhanbad to Giridih and
Ranchi, Tatanagar, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Deoghar, Dumka, Pakur, Sahebganj stations

should be made model railway stations. A rail factory should be set up at
Chakradharpur.
Besides it, trains between Hatia-Mumbai and Hatia-Yashwantpur should be
run daily upto Dhanbad. I demand that trains running at Ranchi-Alipurdwar-
Guwahati, Ranchi-New Delhi Garib Rath, Ranchi-Lokmanya Tilk, Ranchi-Ajmer
Sharief, Hyderabad-Darbhanga, Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi routes should be run on
a daily basis.
SHRI SUDARSHAN BHAGAT: Dumping Yard set up in the heart of
Lohardaga city should be shifted to the outskirts of the city as soon as possible.
Besides connecting Lohardaga to Raigarh in Chhattisgarh state, industrial rail
corridor should be constructed at the earliest. The Doubling of rail route from
Ranchi to Lohardaga should be undertaken. Lohardaga to Tori rail project should
be completed at the earliest. Lohardaga railway station should be developed as a
model railway station. Ganga-Satlaj express (13301-13306) should be extended
upto Ranchi. A railway line should be laid from Lohardaga to Korba, via-Gumla,
Jaspur. A railway line from Lohardaga to Jharsugada should be laid via Gumla,
Jaspur, Kunkuri. Train service should be introduced from Lohardaga to
Jamshedpur via Dhanbad.
SHRI DARA SINGH CHAUHAN: Everybody is aware of the post -
Budget increase in rail fares. I request the Minister to roll back the increase in fare
of general class. Earlier, a terminal at Mau was announced but no work has started

there. So, work should be started there. A train from Mau to Delhi via Azamgarh-
Jaunpur should be introduced. Surat-Varanasi, Tapti-Ganga earlier known as
Surat-Varanasi Express has been extended upto Chhapra. It should be extended
upto Surat via Azamgarh and Mau. The frequency of Ganga-Kaveri which runs
from Banaras to Chhapra via Ghazipur-Balia should be increased from two days a
week to three days a week and should run via Mau. There is a busy Zero-B Gate at
Mau. An underbridge or an overbridge should also be constructed there. Railway
is a big center of manpower. Quotas for SC, ST and OBC have not been filled as
yet. These quotas should be filled. Azamgarh should be connected to Kolkata via
Chhathiya, Mubarakpur, Mohammadabad, Rasada and Balia. The Survey for the
doubling of lines should be translated into action. There is a need for doubling and
financing the Shahganj-Azamjagrh-Mau-Chhapra line because Mau is a big centre
of Poorvanchal. The earlier arrangements of catering at Mau railway station
should be restored. Banaras is a World renowned railway station and people from
all over the world visit Banaras, the problems there should be looked into.
Provision should be made in this budget for Mau Terminal and this work should be
started. Mau should be linked with Delhi.
SHRI C. RAJENDRAN: The Railway Minister had increased the freight
charges. This increase would increase the prices of essential commodities. This
would lead to higher inflation and the common man may not be able to take this.
Safety of travelling public is the most important concern. I request the Minister

that at least two GRP/RPF personnel would be required in each coach of the trains
to take care of the passengers. Modernization of Chennai Central Railway station
should be taken up and completed as early as possible. Cleanliness and hygiene in
the station areas are not being taken care of at all. The Railways has to take
adequate measure so that the travelling public, especially in the long distance
trains, are not put to undue hardship. Public are not getting quality food. The
Railways have to pay immediate attention to this aspect and set things right.
Double line project from Villupuram and Trichy may be considered and included
in this Budget. A daily train from New Delhi to Kanyakumari via Trichy or
Tanjore be announced. This would mitigate the hardships being faced by the
common people. I request the Minister to consider and concede to have a direct
train between Chennai Central and Jodhpur daily. I request the hon. Minister to
allot additional reservation counters and ticket dispensing counters at Tambaram,
Chromepet, Pallavaram, Mambalam and Saidapet stations. Tambaram Railway
Station needs to upgrade on a war-footing.
SHRI BHASKARRAO BAPURAO PATIL KHATGAONKAR: Nanded
Division of Marathwada has constantly been ignored with regards to some of its
key railway demands. The key demands are : to sanction adequate funds in
Railway Budget 2012-13 for the work of Nanded-Degloor-Bidar new railway line
and for laying double track between Mudkhed-Parbhani. New super fast train like
Garibrath may be introduced for the benefit of passengers from Mumbai. Mumbai

Latur daily express train may be extended to Nanded, Nanded and Bidar are holy
pilgrimage spots of the Sikh community Hence, I request you to kindly sanction
this project of Nanded-Naigaon Degloor-Hanegaon-Bidar new line for the benefit
of the pilgrims and make provision of adequate funds in railway budget for early
completion of this project.
SHRI DINESH CHANDRA YADAV: This rail budget is a budget of
annexures. Last year, the rail budget was termed as the budget of the common
man and this year also it has been said that it is the budget of common man. This
time the Freight charges have been increased even before the presentation of the
budget which has resulted in 30 to 40% increase in the price of salt. Passenger fare
has been increased and this increase will contribute about Rs. 4000 croes in the
income of Railways which is negligible. I am unable to understand as to what is
the line of thinking of the people running the government. It can not be denied that
the areas where the rail link is available are prosperous. Bihar is being neglected
since long be it planning, number of trains or extension of trains. This budget has
been prepared in haste. Mamataji had announced updating the survey work of
more than hundred rail sections and had said that she will start the desired projects
for linking the backward areas by formulating Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana.
I demand that 41 kilometer rail section from Mansi to Saharsa be doubled.
Saharsa-Madhepura rail section should also be electrified. Saharsa DMU trains
from Saharsa to Samstipur via Hasanpur, Mokama to Khagria should be started. A

passenger train from Saharsa to Samastipur via Hasanpur should run at night for
which a proposal is already there. A night passenger train should run from
Saharsa to Sonepur. Train No. 12553-12554 New Delhi-Barauni-Vaishali Express
should be extended upto Saharsa. Dibrugarh-Chandigarh express should be made
a daily train instead of a weekly one. Jaynagar- Saharsa, Janki express should be
made a daily train. Jansadharan express which is plying once a week should also
be regularized. Stoppage of Seemanchal express should be provided at Mansi
station. Khagaria is a district headquarters so stoppage of Bikaner-Guwahati
express, Guwahati-Samparkranti express and Garib Nawaz express should be
provided at Khagaria railway station. New Jalpaiguri express should also have
stoppage at Hasanpur Road station. Fund should be provided for all the pending
rail projects in Bihar and they should be completed within the stipulated period. If
targets are set, they should also be achieved. There is a need to pay attention
towards completion of a rail road bridge over river Ganga at Munger which is an
ambitious project for Bihar, construction of which was started much earlier. A road
over bridge should be constructed at Khagaria level crossing no. 23B at the
earliest. An over bridge should be constructed at Simari-Bakhatiyarpur-Sonwarsa
level crossing no. 17B and Khagaria-Umeshnagar station level crossing no. 24. A
road over bridge should be sanctioned at level crossing no.22 in Narkatiyaganj.
Fund should be provided for setting up of Greenfield Electric Loco factory in
Madhepura. Besides, fund should also be arranged for completion of rail wheel

manufacturing plant at Chhapara. Trains should be provided from Saharsa
Junction to Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Tata Nagar, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Arrangements of drinking water and seating space for the passengers should be
made available at Saharsa Junction. A foot over bridge should be constructed on
the South of Saharsa railway station. The dilapidated foot over bridge at Supaul
railway station should be re-constructed.
SHRI R. THAMARAISELVAN: The few railway projects concerning my
Dharmapuri Parliamentary constituency need special attention of the hon. Railway
Minister. Morappur-Dharmapuri rail line should be laid. Rail over-bridges should
be constructed at Adhiyaman Kottai Railway Gate falling on the Dharmapuri-
Salem National Highway (NH-7), Vennampatti Railway Gate in Dharmapuri
town, Pennagaram Railway Gate (Kumarasamy Pettai Railway Gate), Kadagathur
Railway Gate, Chinthalpadi Railway Gate and Buddireddipatti railway Gate.
Manned level crossing should be created at Sivanalli village, stoppage of Alleppey
Tata Nagar – Bokaro Express and Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Express
at Morappur railway station and Mumbai-Kanyakumari Mumbai Express and
Sabari Express at Bommidi railway station and Bangalore-Mangalore-Bangalore
Express at Dharmapuri railway station should be provided. Frequency of
Bangalore-Nagarcoil Express be increased. A new train between Bangalore and
Dharmapuri should be introduced. A Foot-over bridge should be constructed at

Dharmapuri railway station. Normal reservation facility should be provided at
Dharmapuri railway station.
SHRI AMARNATH PRADHAN: I request the Hon’ble Minister to
emphasize on basic passenger facilities especially hygiene and medical facilities on
board. There is an urgent requirement of a new train from my constituency
headquarter Sambalpur in Orissa to Allahabad. This will suffice the need of the
people going to perform last rites.
SHRI SANJAY BHOI: Bargarh and Jharsuguda stations in my
parliamentary constituency were declared by Kumari Mamata Banerjee as Adarsh
Station. Padampur, a sub-division of my constituency was identified for opening a
PRS counter. Unfortunately, no work has been done in regard to both of these. I
request to accept these demands.
SHRI NILESH NARAYAN RANE: Mail/express trains should have
stoppage at the important stations of the Konkan region. There should be
reservation quota for the people of the Konkan region in the trains that pass
through this region. I seek the special attention for Konkan from our Railway
Minister from economic and tourism points of view. I appeal to the Minister to
attach special priority to the Konkan Railways in the overall framework of railway
safety, as it is located in a fragile eco-system and is vulnerable to disruptions
during monsoon raising questions about safety of passengers. I urge the Minister to

kindly intervene in facilitating early completion of the several projects for Konkan
Railways initiated in the preceding years.
SHRI ARJUN CHARAN SETHI: Railway is the biggest Government
undertaking and the largest one also in the world. It is the single system, which
consists of 64,460 route kms. of track that cris-cross the country. I will mainly
confine my speech regarding the White Paper on Indian Railways placed on the
floor of the House by the then hon. Minister for Railways. My first observation is
this. Does the Ministry of Railways have Parliamentary sanction for re-
appropriation of funds between various funds paid/plan heads and zones of
Railways? Over the period of time, it is seen that whatever this hon. House gives
approval to, particularly, to the project and amount is being diverted/reappropriated
to some other project. This is not allowed as per the system in vogue
Parliamentary system. How can the Railway officials overrule and re-appropriate
those funds? So, I would like to urge upon the hon. Minister to take note of it.
Will not the transfer of funds from Capital Fund to Development Fund dilute the
very purpose for which these Funds were created? When the operational losses
incurred on the strategic lines by the Ministry of Railways is more or less being
reimbursed for the last three years, then on what basis can this be justified as a
ground for reduction of rate of dividend? As against China’s addition of new lines
of 1000 kilometres per annum, India achieved a mere 220 kilometres per annum
during 2004-05 and 2008-09. The payment of ex-gratia to the victims of train

accidents would not serve the purpose because those who died have died, no
amount of ex-gratia can help their families. On the issue of safety, it was said that
the number of accidents has come down. The unmanned level crossings were
16,976 as on 01-04-2009. Out of annual allocation of about 700 crore for the
purpose, the expenditure has been about 500 crore. How it can be done? When
money is available, why that money cannot be utilized? The number of cognizable
crime under IPC has come down from 20,623 in 2004-05 to 15,336 in 2008-09 and
for passenger amenities, the public perception is not good in terms of catering,
cleanliness, punctuality, efficiency. I want to tell a few words about my State.
Orissa and there are three important Railway projects in operation since more than
one decade. The length of the Khurda-Bolangir line is 289 kilometres. The
achievement made in the last more than ten years was only 16 kilometres. The
Government has spent Rs.200 crore. They have earmarked only Rs.40 crore for
the current year. If this kind of thing goes on, it will take hundreds of years to
complete a project. I would ask the ho. Minister to look into this project.
Similarly, another important project is the Port Link Project, Haridaspur-Paradip
Project. There was some kind of confusion between the land owners as well as the
State Government and the Railways. We are told that this type of confusion is
already over. Why has only Rs.2 crore been earmarked for the current year? They
have declared Bhubneswar as the world class station three years back. But there is
no sign of anything. Similar is the case of Puri. Puri is not only a place of tourist

importance but also an important place from all angles. The Government have
declared it a world class station. But still the Government is only thinking about it.
I would request the hon. Minister to look into it. He should try to set right the
auditing or the financial management system so that there is sanctity.
SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT: Sandila and Bilhaur stations should be
developed more by upgrading them as Model Stations. All express trains should
be given a stoppage at Balamau railway junction and an exclusive restroom should
be constructed there for VIP passengers. The Department of Railways should set
up a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Balmau. Another ticket boking counter should be
opened on the other side of the Balamau Railway Junction. A railway overbridge
should be constructed over Balamau Railway Junction. Sitapur meter gauge
railway line via Kanpur-Balamau should be converted into a broad gauge. Sitapur-
Lucknow metre gauge should also be converted into broad gauge.
Misrikh parliamentary constituency is extremely backward. Metro
passenger coach factory should be set up here to develop it. Centre of Excellence
in software should be set up under the aegis of Centre for Railway Information
System in Misrikh. A power plant has been sanctioned in my Parliamentary
Constituency Sandila. If a gas based power plant is set up by the Railways here, it
would facilitate more development in the area apart from removing backwardness
there. An under bridge should be constructed under Knapur-Farrukhabad railway
line. An overbridge should also be constructed in Sandila and Bilhaur of my

constituency. A Shatabdi Express from Lucknow to New Delhi via Bareilly should
be introduced. A new railway line should be laid from Bilhaur to Makanpur
Madarshah mausoleum at the earliest after getting a survey conducted there.
Naimisharanya pilgrimage place should be provided a pilgrim train connectivity.
There is a world famous mausoleum of Madarsah at Makanpur in Kanpur City
District, under my parliamentary constituency Misrikh, District Sitapur (Uttar
Pradesh) which should be provided rail connectivity. There is a need to upgrade
the Hardoi, Sitapur, Neemsar and Sandila railway stations and the Balamau
junction. A state of the art advanced Loco Pilot Training Centre, Advanced Rail
Track Training Centre or Multi Departmental Training Centre should be set up
either in Hardoi or Sitapur under my parliamentary constituency. A passenger rail
coach factory, Loco Factory or Diesel Multiple Unit Factory should be set up
under the Misrikh Parliamentary Constituency. An Airconditioned Container
Manufacturing Factory should be set up in Misrikh. Construction of Sitapur-
Lucknow broadgauge railway line should be started at the earliest. Abida Express
train which used to ply from Kanpur-Balamau-Neemsar via Shahjahanpur to Delhi
should be restored. Following railway facilities should be provided in my
parliamentary constituency Misrikh under district Sitapur (Uttar Pradesh).
Stoppage should be ensured to the train plying from Gwalior to Chhapra at
Bilhaur. A new Shatabdi Express should be introduced between Kanpur-Varanasi.
A new Jan Shatabdi Express should be plied between Lucknow-Delhi via Bareilly.

A new Jan Shatabdi Express should be introduced from Kanpur-Agra via Jhansi-
Gwalior. A railway bridge should be constructed on Bilhaur-Kakvan route. A
railway bridge should be constructed at Sandila over the Beniganj route on
Lucknow-Hardoi track. There is a need to beautify the Misrikh railway station.
There is a need for doubling of the Kanpur-Orai-Jhansi railway route. There is a
need for gauge conversion of Lucknow-Sitapur-Mailani-Pilibhit-Bareilly railway
route. There is a need to electrify Kanpur-Orai-Jhansi railway route. There is a
need to lay a new railway line from Sitapur to Nanpara and between Balaman-
Kannauj. There is a need to extend the Shatabdi Express plying from Delhi to
Kanpur upto Lucknow. There is a need to provide stoppage to train no.5037 up
and 5038 down at Araul Makanpur Station. There is a need to man the unmanned
level crossings under the Misrikh parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
Reservation quota should be enhanced in trains plying from Sitapur, Hardoi,
Kanpur. More platforms should be constructed at Sitapur, Hardoi, Kanpur railway
stations. A railway spare parts manufacturing unit should be set up in Sitapur,
Hardoi, Kanpur. The famous Naimisharanya pilgrimage center should be
connected to the capital New Delhi through an Express train. A fully equipped
Railway Hospital should be established in Misrikh. A 50-bedded railway hospital
should be set up in Misrikh parliamentary constituency for the welfare of railway
employees. A railway workshop should be set up in Misrikh for the repair of the
coaches of the goods train. Sufficient drinking water supply should be made

available at railway stations under the Misrikh parliamentary constituency.
Measures should be taken to improve sanitation at all railway stations here.
* SHRI E.G. SUGAVANAM: Indian Railways is the third largest railway
network in the world. It covers over 65,000 kms. operating 12,000 passenger
trains and 700 freight trains every day. Most of the revenue for railways comes
from freight traffic. So improving the freight traffic, strengthening of track to
carry heavier loads at faster speed, laying of dedicated freight corridors is
necessary. The proposal of the Railways to introduce 75 new Express Trains, 21
Passenger Trains are welcome. Safety is the primary concern for railways and
traveling public. Large number of train accidents took place in the last few years.
The proposal to set up Railway Safety Authority will definitely address these
concerns. The standard of cleanliness and hygiene is far below the standard. The
proposal to replace open discharge toilets in trains with green toilets will help
improve hygiene conditions to a great extent. Railways has proposed to upgrade
84 stations in the country as Adarsh stations. Hosur station in Tamil Nadu is not
among them. Hosur station should be upgraded as an Adarsh station. The
proposed introduction of Double Decker Train from Chennai-Bangalore will ease
traffic congestion in this route. Tamil Nadu is far behind in getting new railway
projects in the last few years. I urge upon the railway administration to consider
our demands. Introduction of Izzat Scheme was widely welcomed by poorest
* Original in Tamil

sections of the society. To avoid the Railways from falling into the debt trap, the
passenger fares have hiked. But instead of hiking the fares at one stretch gradual
hike can be considered. There is a long pending demand from the people of
Krishnagiri constituency for laying of a new railway line between Jolarpettai and
Hosur via Tirupathur-Kandili-Barugur-Orappam-Krishnagiri-Sulagiri. This project
was announced in the Railway Budget in 2010. But no adequate funds were
sanctioned for taking up this project. Bangalore-Nagercoil Weekly Express should
be run daily. The number of trains between Dharamapuri-Morappur needs to be
increased. Stoppage of Kochuveli-Yashwantpur Garibrath Express at Hosur,
Yashwantpur-Tirupati Express and Coimbatore – Tirupati Express at Jolarpet
should be considered. Coimbatore – Bangalore Inter City Express should be
introduced. Bangalore-Erode Passenger via Hosur, Dharamapuri and Salem must
be introduced. The frequency of Chennai-Nagercoil Weekly Express may also be
increased. The Nagercoil-Mumbai Express should be diverted via Hosur and
Dharamapuri. Hosur-Erode Passenger should be introduced. The deployment of
RPF at Hosur Railway Station is to be taken up immediately. The doubling and
electrification of Bangalore-Salem Railway Line is pending for long. It calls for
the Minister’s immediate attention.
DR. RAM CHANDRA DOME: I must start with the environment
prevailing in the Indian Railways and refer the report of the hon. Anil Kakodkar
Committee. The Committee has also strongly recommended for stopping the

practice of introduction of new trains without commensurate inputs to the
infrastructure. The Railways’ financial situation is best known by its operating
ratio. In the year 2004-2005, the operating ratio was 91 percent and in the year
2011-12, it is 95 percent. The Minister for Railways has expressed his desire that
it would be contained and would come down to 85 percent in the next year’s
Budget. The fare hike that has taken place needs to be seen in the backdrop of this
severe deterioration in the financial performance of the Indian Railways. The
targets for the basic operations of the Railways, i.e., carrying passengers and goods
traffic are not being met. Why are the freight loading targets being missed despite
the economy growing at 7 to 8 percent while real GDP grew at around 7 percent in
2011-12? This shows the gross inefficiency of Railways. Clearly, the Railways is
losing freight traffic to every forms of transport. The passenger traffic is not
growing as per the projections. This is because of the deteriorating quality of
services being provided at one hand and the lack of concern for safety and security
of the Railways on the other. This is year already 55 train accidents have occurred
between April to November, 2011 leading to loss of lives of 104 persons. Even
this morning there was a tragic accident in Mathura section resulting in the death
of 15 persons. I demand that a thorough enquiry into this should be ordered.
Adequate compensation should be provided. Regarding filing up the vacancies I
would like to submit that 14,872 posts of Loco Pilots, Assistant Loco Pilots and
55,355 posts of gang man are lying vacant as on 1 st April, 2011. I would like to

submit that the backlog vacancies of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
which are being carried forward for a long time now should be cleared
immediately to give justice to these vulnerable sections of society. Around 427
railway projects are pending and about Rs.1 lakh core are needed for those
projects. Some projects have been pending for years together. The promises are
now being utilized by the Railway Minister to initiate large scale privatization of
the Indian Railways. The Expert Group for Modernization of Railways envisages
PPP investment in railways worth Rs.4.13 lakh crore over the next ten years. The
railways are already showing negative growth in investment. So, PPP will not
work and it is to sell out the Indian Railways to the private hands. So, I oppose
this Railways Budget to protect our important and golden PSU of our country. I
also oppose the fare hikes in the second class in the mail, express, suburban and
non-suburban trains. I oppose this anti-people Railway Budget presented by this
Government.
SHRI YASHBANT LAGURI: The backward state like Odisha has been
grossly neglected in this Railway Budget. The Rajdhani Express plying between
Bhubaneshwar and Delhi should be run via Keonjhargarh, Banspani, Chaibasa and
Tatanagar. Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express should be run via Jajpur, Keonjhar Road,
Keonjhargarh, Banspani and Chaibasa while linking it with its old route of
Chakradharpur. Extending some railway lines in the areas where minerals are
found in abundance would help in its transportation. A new railway line is

proposed from Banspani to Vimlagarh via Badweel. Survey has already been
conducted. If this railway line is laid, then Mahanadi Coalfields, industrial area of
Rourkela and the iron ore reserve area of Badweel could be inter-connected.
Similarly, survey of the railway line from Keonjhar to Badampahar via Karanjia,
Udaipur has also been conducted. If this railway line is laid, then the industrial
area of Rourkela and the entire mineral belt of the Keonjhar district will be directly
connected with Dhamra Port and Haldia Port. Badweel and Banspani, the two
centres of mineral area have no railway connectivity with each other. Hence,
railway line should be laid there. The hon’ble Minister of Railways is requested to
make necessary provision in this budget for the construction of these three
important railway lines. The backlog in various categories of posts in the Railways
should be cleared. The reserved quota in regard to the stalls and vendors should be
allotted at the earliest. In the previous budget, provision was made to convert
Banspani into a multifunctional station which could not be implemented. Atleast,
it should be included in the list of the model stations. Keonjhar Railway Division
should be constituted in the interest of the Department and the people and
Keonjhargarh should be made its headquarters.
SHRI LAXMAN TUDU : I represent the tribal and backward Mayurbhanj
district of Odisha and there are no railway facilities at all till now. In the Railways
Budget 2012-13, my district has been deprived of its due share and no remarkable
train project have been taken up during this current budget. I would also request to

take up and execute Bangriposi-Gorumahishani, Badampahar-Keonjhar, Baripada
to Jajpur Road via Udala-Kaptipada-Sarat-Anandapur and Buramara to Kharagpur
via (Chandua-Gopiballavpur) broad gauge line projects. In order to decongest and
augment the capacity of Rupsa-Baripada-Bangriposi section of South Eastern
Railway (SER), Betnoti PH on this section must be converted into a crossing
station.
Around 50 acres of railway lands are available at Baripada, sufficient
budgetary allocation must be provided for construction of a second line and second
platform at Baripada station. The annual total revenue income of Baripadas station
is around Rs.84 lakhs. It is the main linkage between Rupsa –Bangriposi broad
gauge railway section. I have made several requests to the Ministry of Railways
for making the Baripada as modern full flagged railway station for the greater
interest of the Railway passenger. But in the current budget about 1102 crores
rupees have been allotted for redevelopment of 100 railway station, where as the
name of my Baripada station is not found in the list. I would like to request to take
up Rairangpur station in my district along with other stations from my state Odisha
as Model station.
In view of the huge needs and demands of the public, two new trains i.e.
Baripada-Bhubanswar Rajya Rani SF Express (Tri –Weekly) and Badampahar-
Roukela Express /Badampahar-Ranchi Express (Tri-Weekly) may be introduced. I
would like to request to extend Train No. 12891/12892 Baripada-Bhubaneshwar

SF Express from Bangriposi to Puri and increase the frequency of Train No.
18007/18008 Shalimar-Baripada Simlipal Express from Tri-Weekly to daily in
order to fulfill the long cherished demand of the people of my district. I thanks the
Ministry of Railways for considering the request of people for renaming Train No.
18007/18008 Shalimar Express as Simlipal Express and to rename the Train No.
12891/12892 Bhubaneswar SF Express as Kherwal Express. I strongly oppose the
hike in the passenger fares in ordinary, mail and express second class.
SHRIMATI BHAVANA PATIL GAWALI: The Hon. Railway Minister
has made a mention of Ma, Mati and Manush in the Budget but it seems to me that
the manner in which the fare has been hiked, the common man has been neglected.
The common man will have to bear the burden. The Hon. Minister has presented a
Budget of RS.60,100 crore. He has kept safety, strengthening, modernization and
efficiently on priority. Already the Railways is facing financial crunch. I would
like to know from the hon. Minster as to how all these things are going to be
achieved. The Hon. Minister in his speech has announced that in the year 2012-13
around one lakh personnel would be appointed. Such type of announcements are
made many a times but are not implemented. Often, we raise the issue of
\cleanliness. The Railway stations are so much untidy that it is very difficult for
anyone to stand there. Can the Railway Ministry make the Railway like that of the
Metro? Cotton is grown at a large scale in Vidarbha. Keeping it in view the gauge
conversion should be undertaken in this region. I, urge to increase the frequency

of some trains. The Hyderabad to Ajmer bi-weekly train should be run throughout
the week. Nanded to Shriganganagar train runs once in a week. It should be run
on daily basis. Likewise, Sikanderabad-Akola Intercity Express Train should be
extended upto Khandwa. Marathwada and Vidarbha both are backward areas, a
direct train for Mumbai should be introduced from these places. I also urge that a
train from Akola to Tirupati via Washim-Hingoli should be introduced. There is a
place namely Devra in Washim, the people there have been demanding an R.O.B.
there for the last 5-6 years. There is heavy traffic congestion at Pusad-Washim.
So an ROB is required there. The Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded project was
sanctioned in the year 2007-2008. Four years have elapsed but the work there is
going at a snail’s pace. This project should be declared a National Project.
Likewise, the Akola-Khandwa railway line has been sanctioned but the work on it
is going on at a slow pace.
SHRI A.K.S. VIJAYAN : The gauge conversion of Thiruvarur-
Thiruthuraipoondi-Pattukottai segment of Thiruvarur-Karaikudi metre gauge line
has been left out in the budget, 2012-13. I had made several representations to
convert this meter gauge segment into broad gauge. On Thiruvarur-
Thruthuraipoondi-Pattukottai lies the famous 800 years’ old Dargah at Muthupttai,
which attracts pilgrims from all over the country. Moreover, this area is one of the
salt producing areas of the country. I would also like to inform that I have raised
this issue in the Parliament on several occasions during the last 10 years but

nothing has been done yet in this regard. More shockingly, I am given to
understand that the Railways are going to take up the work of Karaikudi-
pattukottai line first, which is gross injustice to the people of my Parliamentary
Constituency. In this regard, I would also like to mention here that I am ready to
give one year MPLADS fund of Rs.5 crore for taking up Thiruvarur-
Thiruthuraipoondi-Pattukottai gauge conversion project, if the railway Ministry is
facing any financial crunch in taking up this projcct. Thiruvarur-Muthupettai
(Approx 40 Kms) Broad gauge Line project should also be taken up immediately
as the people of these areas are facing lots of difficulties due to non-availability of
rail transport on this line. There is a place called Akkarapettai situated between
Nagapattinam and Nagore. The people of these areas are facing great difficulties
in crossing this Akkarapttai due to non-availability of an ROB. I request the
Minister of Railways that an ROB should be constructed in Akkarapettai.
At present there is no direct train connectivity between Nagore and Delhi.
Lots of people from North India visits the tourists places of my constituency very
frequently and the people of these places have to visit North India in search of jobs
and other purposes. If a direct train between Nagore and Delhi is introduced early,
it will be of great help and convenient to the people of these areas and to the people
of North India who are visiting the above mentioned tourist places. I also request
the Hon’ble Minister to issue orders for stoppage of Kamban Express (Train No.
16176/16175) at Mambalam, Chennai for a minute so that the people can be saved

from paying huge sums to the taxis or auto-rickshaws. The southern railways may
b suitably instructed to attach more number of coaches in the existing trains
running between Tirunelveli and Chennai, Madurai and Chennai and Trichy and
Chennai. At least two more long distance trains may be introduced to catch up
with the demand.
SHRI P. KUMAR: Railway is a significant mode of transport for poor
people and for majority of goods. Therefore, it is very important for the
Government to view the concern of common people while preparing the Railway
Budget. As far as new announcements for Tiruchirapalli constituency is
concerned, I would like to thank the hon. Minister for the introduction of new line
survey between Thanjavur-Pudukottai via Gandarvakkottai. Thiruverumbur
railway station was also selected for upgradation as Adarsh Station in my
constituency. I request that Srirangam and Pudukkotai stations in my constituency
should also be also be selected for upgradation. I thank the hon. Minister for
announcing new daily express train between Tiruchirapppalli-Tirunelveli Intercity
Express via Madurai and Virudunagar. But the longstanding demand of
introducing express trains or super fast trains from Trichy to Kanyakumari,
Pudukkottai to Chennai and a direct train from Tiruchirappalli to Bangalore have
not fulfilled. The Rock Fort Express should run on its original line between
Tiruchirappalli to Chennai. I request to include Tiruchirappalli for Duranto
Service. Railway Over Bridges should be constructed at Srirangam Railway Line,

the Railway gate in-between Tiruchi and Pudukkottai, NH-210 near Rasa Vayal
level-crossing and one in Tiruchirappalli City near Marin Theatre on priority basis.
For the ongoing doubling project from Villupuram to Dindigul, a meagre amount
of Rs.60 crore is allocated in the present Budget. I request the Government to
allocate more funds in order to complete the doubling project at the earliest. The
Golden Rock Railway Workshop and 3200 staff quarters are in 225 acres at
Golden Rock, Tiruchirappalli. Nearly 70 percent of the employees staff quarters
are demolished and the said land is lying vacant. I urge upon the Railway Ministry
to consider the inception of another Railway Coach Factory at Golden Rock,
Tiruchirappalli. Many projects in Tamil Nadu are moving at a snail’s pace and
launguishing for want of funds. There is a shortage of staff at Karur Railway
Station. I would like to request the hon. Railway Minister to increase the staff
there immediately. A/c coaches and Sleeper coaches should be increased in the
Mangalore Express. This Budget failed to concentrate many of the long pending
demands on South Railways region. Southern Region is significantly contributing
a major share for the revenue of Railways. Therefore, it is pertinent to give more
importance for projects under Southern Railways.
SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE: The priority of entire Rail Budget is safety.
In the growth story of India, the Railways have substantially not been able to grow
at the speed of the rest of the infrastructure in our country has grown. The real
reason why the Railways has not been able to achieve this is purely because of

paucity of funds. The Sam Pitroda as well as Kakodkar Committees Reports said
that investment requirement of the entire Railways is Rs.14 lakh crore. We are
nowhere near this in this Budget. A lot of controversy has been there over the
tariff issue. This House needs to deliberate whether a Railway Tariff Regulatory
Authority is the final solution for our Railways. I come from, where really
Railways is used by millions of people day in and day out for work and everybody
is willing to pay a little more there provided the services of Railways are improved.
If we increase the fares or freight for safety, no consumer will object because
safety is really critical. The kind of rail accidents that have been happening in the
country, we really need to address this issue. I am not sure if the Railway Tariff
Regulatory Authority is the only solution. But if there is an independent authority
which is non-political, the things will become a little easier. If the sense of the
whole House agrees to something like this, we really need to consider. Otherwise,
our Railways will probably decay and die in a few years to come. We need an
Indian Railway Safety Authority as well as a Railway Research and Development
Council on an urgent basis. Railway is one of the most major transport options.
So, we need to improve our tracks and bridges, signaling systems, anti-collision
technology etc. Anti-collision technology is used worldwide today and trains are
getting greener. Railways is using diesel in a big way and using bigger and heavier
machine. So we should use modern technology for improving our trains with more
bogies and use the technology for reducing the use of diesel and coal. If the

Railways can improve their systems and can give more bogies especially for
transporting cotton, vegetables and fruits, our farmers will definitely get some
more money and good remunerative prices. This year’s Railway Budget is an
inclusive Budget which talks about differently abled people. But the Railways
needs to expand their role and their view of looking at differently abled people. A
Logistics Corporation is extremely important for the Railways because they make a
lot of profits in freight, but the people who work in freight wing are the biggest
sufferers in this entire Railway family. The Railways has to seriously consider and
include these people, who come under the unorganized sector, into their family. I
welcome the recruitment of more staff in the Railways. The Railways is going to
recruit one lakh more people into the Railways. We hope that people of every
State will get a chance to work in the Railway Ministry. There are 487 projects
worth Rs.1 lakh crore are pending which are committed in the previous various
Budgets. I urge for a clean White Paper in this regard.
The Rail Mantralaya has made a lot of good interventions in Mumbai. But
whenever there is an accident in Mumbai, the Railway Police say it is not our job
and the Mumbai Police says that it is not our job because it happened on the
Railway track. So, those bodies lie unattended and unidentified for days. I think
we need to have a clear policy on this issue. There are requirements of
Ambulances at every station in Mumbai. Pune has really got a raw deal in this
Budget. I urge the hon. Minister to look at Pune-Mumbai and Nasik to make it

into a Golden Triangle. I have demanded for several trains like Daund-Pune
Shuttle, Lonawala-Pune-Daund local service, electrification of Pune-Daund track,
extending the Pragati Express up to Baramati. We are also looking for an RUB at
Kurkumbh. Pune station today is completely congested, so if the Ministry can
extend some of that load to Daund, it will help that city even in the economics of
that city. We need some seats blocked for all our people form Sindhudurga area
and the entire Konkan belt in Mumbai-Konkan Railway. I welcome the proposal
to connect Shirdi-Pandharpur and Amritsar-Patna-Nanded. Nagar-Beed-Parli is a
plan of Rs.462 crore and 261 kilometer route has been approved in 2008 but the
work has still not started. Inauguration of the Wardha-Yawatmal-Nanded project
has done but there is no progress in it. Developing Lonand station will help the
newly industrialized towns like Shirwal, Khandala, Lonand and Phaltan.
Connecting Konkan to Kolhapur, Sindhudurga and Ratnagiri is also a commitment
made which has not been completed. Some rail projects are mentioned in various
budgets but we still do not see any of these converting into a reality. I understand
that paucity of money is definitely a big challenge in front of the Ministry. So, I
urge upon the hon. Finance Minister and the hon. Prime Minister to give a bigger
Budget to Railways which is a lifeline for an average commuter in our country.
SHRI ADHI SANKAR : The survey on laying of new railway line between
Kallakuruchi and Chinnasalem had been completed in 2005but no work has been
started yet. I request the Minister of Railways to start first Thiruvarur-

Thiruthuraipoondi-pattukottai line instead of the present proposal of starting first
the Karaikudi-Pattukottai gauge conversion work.
At present Kamban Express which is running between Nagore and Chennai
Egmore is not having a stoppage at Mambalam, Chennai. If this train stops at
Mambalam for a minute, it will be of great help to the people carrying more
luggages. While considering modernization and going in for Unit-2 of ICF, the
Railway may also consider setting up Metro Coaches Production Centre. Southern
Railways may be suitably instructed to attach more number of coaches in the
existing trains running between Tirunelveli and Chennai, Madurai and Chennai and
Trichy and Chennai. I urge upon the Railway Minister to introduce sub-urban rail
service between Combatore and Erode, Vellore and Arakkonam, Madurai and
Dindigul, Trichy and Thanjavur and Trichy and Dindigul, Salem and Erode.
* DR. N. SIVA PRASAD: Andhra Pradesh is the crown of UPA
Government but this Government is fooling us through Rail Budget. If we
compare our country with other countries, we are way behind them in laying new
lines, electrification and doubling of Railway lines and in introduction of new
trains. Around 40% of train accidents happen due to unmanned level crossings, I
request Railways to take up responsibility and ensure adequate safety measure to
minimize number of accidents. Due to inadequate funds allocated to Andhra
Pradesh, the projects which commenced around 25 years ago are yet to be
* Original in Telugu

completed. The State of Andhra Pradesh is meted out injustice. Issues related to
modernization and expansion of Railway lines, re-organization of safety system
and Railways bridges which are in dilapidated situation, are not addressed to.
There was a proposal to merge Vishakhapatanam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam
districts in South Central Railway, but this is yet to be materialized. The proposal
to provide facilities of International Standards to Secunderabad and Tirupati
stations is also unattended. Adarsh stations, are in cold storage. The works of
Medical college, Nursing college and Sports academy are in slow pace. There are
no new industries that are being set up in our state. Even the work of Rail Coach
Factory which was proposed three years ago in Kazipet, is stand still and is
neglected. The State Government expected Rs. 750 crores for varius projects, but
not a single rupee was allocted in this Budget. We asked for 33 new trains, but we
are provided with only two daily trains and five weekly trains. The manufactured
wagons are being taken away by other states because of which South Central
Railway could not operate around 100 special trains. Additional bogies could not
be attached to 600 trains which are running presently. Bigger states have 38 kms
of Railway line per every 1000 kms, whereas, in our state it is only 18 kms per
1000 kms. Though we have minerals but we don’t have railway network to realize
this potential. There is Ekambarakuppam railway station in Nagari. The level of
platform is so low that while de boarding passengers fall on each other on
platform. Similarly, it is very difficult to board a train from this station. Dravida

Universtiy in Kuppam serves as an education hub, but no express train stops here.
Hence, there is a need to provide halt for Yeshwantpur-Hawarh Express therein.
The town may be bifurcated and RUB may be provided, which would reduce
number of accidents. There is a need for push-pull train in my constituency. There
is a need for train from Chennai to Chittoor. We have pilgrim centres, hence there
is a need for a train from Chennai to Shirdi. There are three Railway crossings
between Poothalapattu and Chittoor where several accidents happen, which is on
NH-218. Hence, I request for Rail Over Bridges at these places. You proposed to
upgrade Tirupati station to International Standards, but there is no adequate land
available there. Instead, I request you to consider Chandragiri which is very near
to Tirupati. There was a proposal to set up hospital in Paakala and Railways has
200 acres of land in Paakala so they may consider setting up Rail Coach Factory or
some other factory. I request you to revive Mukthirvala Railway station. You
sanctioned a new line of 151 km between Bhadrachalam and Kovvur with Rs. 938
crores estimate. I request you to release these funds and lay foundation stone for
this line at the earliest.
SHRI ANANDRO ADSUL : Train from Amravati to Pune should be made
a daily train. It should be run via Manmad. The above railway line passes
through agriculturally rich and the best irrigated area of Maharashtra. The farmers
and businessmen have to face hardship and the development activities suffer in this
area due to absence of broad gauge rail line in this area. After 63 years of

Independence, these rail lines are owned by the foreign company. Hon’ble
President of India has also desired expeditious completion of Amravati –Narkhed
new broad gauge line and conversion of Achalpur-Murtizapur narrow gauge
railway line into broad gauge.
SHRI SANJAY SINGH CHAUHAN : I would like to congratulate the
Hon. Minister of Railways for having given a number of things for the western
Uttar Pradesh. I would, further, request him to complete the rest of the pending
works pertaining to the Western Uttar Pradesh at the earliest. But, injustice has
been done with an existing railway line that leads to Shahdra to Saharanpur. This
rail line is known as a meter gauge rail line. My submission from the Hon.
Minister of Railways is to kindly include this rail line when he considers
converting rest of the lines into a broad gauge lines, or during the course of
implementation of doubling and electrification of the rest of the pending projects.
It is also requested to kindly complete the rest of the rail lines from Hastinapur to
Bijnour. I also request him to kindly run the new Rajyarani express from
Muzaffarnagar and also include Bijnour and Chandpur railway stations as a model
railway stations. The people of my area will definitely be benefited, if a new train
is introduced from Bijour to Mumbai. The train which touch Delhi criss-cross
Bijnour during the night. If the Minister of Railways reverses this position of the
trains, it will definitely provide lots of benefits to the people of this area. I also
request the Hon. Minister to kindly open a reservation ticket counter at the other

side of the Muzzafarnagar railway station which will give added advantage to the
people of this area.
A number of colleagues in this House has stressed upon the fact that the fare
so hiked must be rolled back. Taking the stock of pitiable conditions prevailing in
the railways, it seems that it will be a onerous task for the railways to provide even
basic civic or other amenities in the absence of any such hike. Today, everybody is
oblivious of the prevailing situations in the country. What is the percentage of the
poor people which this Government keeps on referring time and again travels by
the trains? Today, everybody who travels with the railways needs good quality of
services and better securities in the railways. We also know that nobody raises any
eyebrows to decrease the fare of metro trains. I, therefore, request the
Government, Opposition and our hon. colleagues with folded hand that they should
stick to truth whatever they say in the Parliament. So far the matter pertains to roll
back is concerned then I do not know what are the things that have to be rolled
back and how far we will go to provide subsidies? Railway is our lifeline and is
also a part of our culture. I, therefore, request the Government not to put this
railway on the loose ground. This Government should do its best endeavour to
strengthen our life line i.e. railways. I, therefore, request the Hon. Prime Minster,
Hon. Finance Minister and with his entire Cabinet colleagues to provide all that
they could do to railways. I also request them to hand over all the money so

ecovered or seized, which has been acquired by corrupt means. This will
definitely boost the railways which will ultimately develop the country.
SHRI SURENDRA SINGH NAGAR : There are four or five villages
adjacent to Futa Atta unmanned railway crossing near Bulandshahar in my
parliamentary constituency where accidents frequently occur. Necessary actions
should be taken to man this railway crossing and provide adequate compensation
to family of deceased and persons injured in those accidents. The proposed
railway overbridge at Khurja railway station should be constructed on priority
basis. Necessary steps should be taken to deploy special railway police in ladies
coaches in trains plying on Delhi-Aligarh route in view of increasing number of
women passengers. Basic amenities should be provided on Khurja junction and
railway employees should be deployed on all the Ticket Booking Counters set up
there.
Direct rail link should be provided from Bulandshar to Delhi or Chola
railway station which is just 8 km away from Bulandshahar on Delhi-Howrah rail
line should be upgraded and named as Chola-Bulandshahar and all the express
trains should be given stoppage there. In view of the population of Noida and
Greater Noida, at least two railway reservation counter should be set up here. All
the express trains including Shatabdi Express should be given stoppages at Dadri
and Dankaur railway stations. Puri Express, Neelanchal Express, North-East
Express, Amrapali Express, Swatantrata Senani Express, Poorva Express, Delhi-

Ajamgarh Express and Magadh Express should be given stoppage at Khurja
junction. Reservation counter for Brahmaputra Mail and Kalindi Express at
Khurja junction should be restored. Khurja junction should be included in ‘Trains
at a glance’.
A ladies special train should be introduced from Khurja to Delhi on daily
basis. A new EMU train should be introduced from Aligarh to Delhi and RPF
should be deployed in ladies coaches for their safety.
* SHRI P. LINGAM: The investment that would be infused into the
Railways for the 12 th Five Year Plan has been indicated to be Rs. 7.35 lakh crore
which is a mere 1.92 crore more than 11 th Five Year Plan. This is nothing in the
wake of the inflation and its pressure on our economy and the devaluation of
money. Railways provide a vital communication link to the length and breadth of
the country. Only Rs. 16,842 crore have been earmarked for safety in the 12 th Five
Year Plan. The revenue from the passenger fare hike announced in this Budget is
about Rs. 4,000 crore. Pradhan Mantri Railway Vikas Yojana was announced in
an earlier Railway Budget but we do not know what had happened to that. Our
passenger train compartments and wagons are not of standard. There is no standard
maintenance of our Railway Stations. Almost all the infrastructure facilities with
the Railways are not up to the mark. When it comes to announcing various projects
and schemes, Tamil Nadu is being sidelined and ignored. Royapuram Satation
* Original in Tamil

should be upgraded. Train services between Pattukkottai and Ariyalur via
Orathanadu and Thanjavur should be introduced. Level-crossing No. 502 coming
up in my Tenkasi constituency is pending completion. Tenkasi-Tirunelveli and
Shencottah-Quilon gauge conversion work must be speeded up. Chennai which is
like a gateway to Tamil Nadu, must link the trains from the North with various
other towns and cities in Tamil Nadu. More rail transport facilities should be
provided to the southern part of the country. Railways must come out of its
discriminatory mindset and ensure better rail connectivity and many other projects
for Tamil Nadu.
SHRI O.S. MANIAN: The State Government of Tamil Nadu have already
submitted for construction of six new Railway lines but these are not included in
the budget. In the present budget, the gauge conversion is sanctioned from
Karaikudi to Pattukottai instead of Tiruvarur-Karaikudi. I request the Hon’ble
Minister of Railways to bring the gauge conversion from Tiruvarur (301 km) and
to allocate sufficient funds for the early completion of the Project. In order to
facilitate the Air Passengers from Chennai to the different parts of the country,
stoppage of all Express trains for two minutes at Tirisoolam be given opposite to
Meenambakkam Airport. All important Railway stations be computerized and
provided with all basic amenities Railway line from Villupuram-Karaikal,
Dindigul-Kanyakumari be electrified. The Train running from Bangalore –Nagore
(273), Nagore- Bangalore (274) be restored at the earliest. Daily train services

from Chennai Central-Jodhpur and from Madurai to Tirupati be introducted . In
the last, I would like to say that necessary basic amenities be provided to MRTS
Railway Stations from Beach to Velachery at Chennai.
SHRI UMASHANKAR SINGH : A number of announcements are made
in every budget. It was announced in the Rail Budget of 2009 that safety
mechanism shall be installed to stop the cases of accidents. From 2009-10 to
2012-13 many accidents took place and there is no such incident in which
hundreds of people are not killed. Every accident involves loss of millions of
rupees including killing of people and damage to rail coaches but no safety
mechanism has been installed till date. During many previous budgets
announcement were made for developing 95 World Class Stations and 395 Model
Stations but that was just the announcement. But till today neither the construction
work of any Model Station nor of any World Class Station has started. Even in the
announcement, there is no mention of Patna Rajdhani in Bihar. Neither there is
mention World of Class Station nor of Model Station in Bihar. There is not a single
Rajdhani till date from Bihar to Delhi via Kishanganj to Baruni, Chhapra,
Gorakhpur, Lucknow. A number of M.Ps, coming from this route every Saturday
and Sunday, are facing much difficulty. It has been requested a number of times to
attach one First A.C Coach in Vaishali Express but neither coach was attached nor
Rajdhani Express was provided. When Hon’ble Lalu Prasad Ji was Minister of
Railway, he sanctioned many projects for Bihar. Plant in Madhepura is closed even

today. In any area setting up of a plant paves the way for the development of the
people of that area. Work of doubling of lines is going on very slowly. The
electrification work is still going on very slowly. The beautification work of the
station named Jiradei, the ancestral village of the First President of India,
Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad, have not been completed. People of the area has
taken resort of agitations and staged Dharna and Demonstrations many times for
installing his statue there. Neither beautification work completed, nor the statue
was installed. I request the Hon’ble Minister that attention should be paid toward
this. Maharajganj- Mashrakh rail line work was started in the year 2007-08. Even
32 kilometer rail line work could not be completed during these four years. I have
requested to the Railway Board in writing to provide a Railway Station at Pateha-
Patehi village which was the native place of Great Freedom Fighter Mahamaya
Prasad Sinha and is only at a distance of 9 Kilometer from Maharajganj. Even after
two years my letter has not been acknowledged and I do not know why this station
ha not been set up. The Government is making tall claims for providing facilities to
handicapped persons but the P.C.O. allotted to handicapped persons at many
stations have not been given any extension. I demand that extension should be
given to all handicapped persons. Besides, my demand for electrification and
doubling of railway tracks may also be fulfilled.
SHRI N.S.V. CHITTHAN : Starting new terminal at Egmore and central
station terminals will ease the congestion. So many useful projects are kept in

selves for want of finance. In the last budget it was announced to introduce
Duranto Air conditioned express train between Chennai and Madurai. As the
private bus operators are fleecing money, I request the Minister to flag of the train
without delay.
New express trains from Palani to Chennai and passenger train from Palani
to Rameshwaram should be introduced. I request the Hon’ble Minster to allot
more funds for the early completion of Madurai-Bodinayakkanur line, Madurai-
Rameswaram line, Villupuram and Dindigul line, Chengalpattu and Villupuram
line and Madurai – Tuticorin line. The Railway line between Dindigul-Kumul via
Bondinayakkanur was surveyed and put under the list of new line surveys to be
taken up during 2012-13. This new survey should be taken without delay for early
execution.
* SHRI N. CHELUVARAYA SWAMY: Karnataka has always been
neglected by the Indian Railways. If the Indian Railways really intend to help the
people of Karnataka, then it would provide adequate funds to complete the existing
Railway projects that have been pending for years and decades. I would also
suggest giving top priority to introduce inter-city trains in Karnataka and
neighbouring States. It would help in improving employment, business, education
and other opportunities. There is a need to bring reforms in the Railway
Department. I urge upon the Railway authority to take steps to implement the
* Original in Kannada

ecommendations of the Sam Pitorda Committee. There should be a Centralized
Controlling System at Rail Bhawan, in New Delhi. So, it would control the entire
railway network of the country. I would like to mention that the number of rail
passengers is considerably increasing every year. Accordingly, the demand for
railway infrastructure, new railway lines, new train is also on the rise.
Indian Railways should take necessary steps to introduce modern
communication technologies to have uninterrupted communication between
control room and train drivers and other agencies concerned so that the accidents
and crimes can be checked. It is really a matter of great concern that most of the
trains are not maintaining their scheduled timings. It is causing great difficulties
for passengers. It is a serious issue. Therefore, I hope Railways would take steps
in this regard without further delay. I would like to impress upon the Indian
Railways to pay necessary attention on cleanliness and providing toilets and pure
drinking water facilities both in trains and at railway stations. I request the Union
Minister for Railways to allocate adequate funds to complete the ongoing projects
in Karnataka. Since there is a huge traffic on the Bengalure-Mysore railway line
priority should be given to complete the project within this year itself. I request
the Government to provide rail-connectivity to various cities and towns of
Karnataka by introducing more inter-city trains from Bengaluru. Electrification
and doubling of major railway lines should also be taken up in this Budget. Hon.
Railway Minister should also take note of the need of the railway infrastructure of

Bengaluru and other cities and towns of Karnatka and allocate sufficient funds for
developing railway infrastructure.
SHRI P.R. NATARAJAN : The Coimbatore region is the highest revenue
getter with Rs.122 crores to its credit in the Southern Railway sector. Even then
justice is not meted out to the people of Coimbatore for their just demands pending
for long time such as introduction of overnight express trains to Bangalore,
Tirvanandapuram, Rameshwaram, Mayiladuthurai re-routing of 13 pairs of trains
via Coimbatore which are at present being run on the Irugur-Podanur sections,
speedy completion of the Coimbatore-Dindigul gauge conversion, additional train
service to Chennai etc. The Railway Ministry continues to neglect this region and
tests the patience of the people for a long time. Therefore, it is requested that the
Southern railway and railway board may be prevailed upon to closely concentrate
on the immediate re-routing of 13 pairs of trains via Coimbatore without further
loss of time.
* SHRI PRASANTA KUMAR MAJUMADAR: I demand that Kolkata-
Balurghat Express which runs thrice a week should run daily. The Gaur Express
should be extended upto Balurghat. A new train from Balurghat to Kolkata in the
evening should be introduced. Railway safety and security of the passengers must
be addressed seriously. Railway safety must be separated from the Railways as a
whole. The cost of fuel has a direct impact on the costs of railway tickets.
* Original in Bengali

Therefore the fuel component should be dissociated from ticketing. Railway fares
have increased in three stages- first, the freight charges have been raised; second
the passenger fares have been hiked; thirdly, the service taxes have been increased.
As a result there is excessive pressure on the common people. Thus the hiked fares
should be rolled back for the benefit of the passengers. Only the fares of AC trains
should be increased as the passengers who travel in air-conditioned coaches can
afford to pay more. At present, about 470 projects are lying unfinished. These must
be taken up and complete by the Ministry. Delays in train schedule have become
very common and most of the trains do not reach the destination in time.
There is absolutely nothing in the name of passenger amenities in the
coaches. The toilets are not Clean, water is not adequately available, seating
arrangements are extremely poor and food is terrible. There is no electricity or
light on the platforms. Hon’ble Railway minister must pay proper attention to these
problems. Electrification work of the stretch from Sealdah to New Jalpaiguri is
pending for a long time and must be completed. I thank the Minister for
announcing that one lakh persons will be appointed in Railways.
SHRI BALKRISHNA KHANDERAO SHUKLA: This year’s Rail
Budget is pointing towards modernization but hon. Minister has not taken any new
initiative to increase the internal resources of the railways. The Railway Budget is
amounting to Rs.60,100 crore, out of which the 40 percent share will depend on the
assistance from the Union Budget. The financial condition of railway is so fragile

that it needs to be overhauled but hon. Minister could not do anything about it.
The operating ratio of the railways has gone upto 95 percent which is very
dangerous and hon. Minister has admitted it in his speech. This year, the
passengers and freight of railways have both come down. In both the cases, the
transportation has shifted from railways to road. The increase in the fares/freight
will contribute to the rapidly increasing inflation in the country which has become
our national problem today. Hon. Minister of railways had sold us a golden dream
that the railway would appoint more than 1 lakh people in this financial year. It
seems impossible in view of the present gloomy situation in the railways. With the
increase of rail fare there will be an additional financial burden on the common
man which will directly contribute to their poverty because it is mostly the
common man who use the railways. There was a demand for new trains in my
Parliamentary Constituency, Vadodara, Gujarat to Mumbai, Delhi and Nagpur
which has been rejected. The demand for some other new trains have also been
neglected. I would like to draw the attention towards both these demands once
again. A large section of public working in industrial and services sector in
Gujarat come from eastern UP and Bihar. Vadodara (Baroda) in Gujarat has
inadequate rail connections with cities in eastern UP and Bihar. There is not even
one super fast train connection so far. Long distance trains should not be used as
slow passenger trains. Pantry cars may be provided in trains. 5045/5046 Okha-
Gorakhpur Train’s frequency may be increased to all seven days or at least tri-

weekly. The train to be routed via Jhansi/Kanpur instead of Jhansi/Agra/Tundla.
For passengers to Gwalior, slip coaches may be attached. The speed of the train be
increased to make it super fast. 9167 Ahmedabad/Varanasi / 9165 Ahmedabad
Muzaffarpur Darbhanga Sabarmati Express may be increased to daily. Three-tier
AC coach should also be attached. These trains to be made super fast trains. Like
Sabarmati Express 9037/38 and 9039/40 Avadh Express train may be made into
two portions – one portion could run to Sultanpur/Jaunpur/Varanasi/Patna/Gaya
and the other to be maintained on its present route to Gorakhpur/Muzaffarpur.
9053/9054 Surat-Muzaffarpur train may be taken to Kanpur via Jhansi instead of
present route of Gwalior-Agra and diverted via Gorakhpur. Its frequency to be
increased to tri-weekly and it may be made super fast. 5635 Okha-Guwahati
Express may leave Okha at 7 am to reach Guwahati around 4 am. 9569 Okha-
Varanasi train may leave Okha at 6:30 am. Pairing train to be similarly scheduled.
Its frequency may be made daily. 2937/2938 (GIMB – HWH) weekly S.F.
Express train should be run via Allahabad-Varanasi-Gaya and its frequency should
be increased. The Railways should manage their resources better for upgradation
and modernization of Indian Railways.
SHRI NRIPENDRA NATH ROY : I belongs to Cooch Bihar. I would like
to state few things about Cooch Bihar. There is a train from Cooch Bihar whose
number is 3148. This train runs from Cooch Bihar to Sealdah and train number
3147 runs from Sealdah to New Cooch Bihar. The people of railway state that the

food is good but this train does not have any pantry car when it runs from Cooch
Bihar to Sealdah, which takes 14 hours.
Bangladesh and Nepal are our friend nations. I demand that Geetaldah line
should be started so that one can reach from Bangladesh to Kolkata in lesser time.
Hon. Minister has announced five day frequency of train New Jalpaigudi, New
Cooch Bihar intercity train. I demand it should be increased to seven days a week.
Dinatta is a sub-division. There is no train from here in the night. There is no
express train from here. I demand that a train from Cooch Bihar to Bardangal
should be increased upto Dinatta. Dinatta rack point should be made. A train
should be run from New Cooch Bihar to North Bengal. An express train should be
started from North Bengal. The number of Railway employees should be
increased. The fare of AC-II tier, sleeper class and passenger trains have been
increased. I demand that this should be rolled back. I support this Budget.
SHRI LALJI TANDON : Two-third population of Lucknow resides on the
otherside of Gomati river known as old Lucknow. People on this side have to go
to Charbag station covering a distance of 20 kilometer. A new railway terminal
was proposed there, it was inaugurated and work had started there. It was a
project worth Rs.80 crore and out of this, an amount of Rs.46 crore was spent on
the project. There is no knowledge about it how, when and by whom this project
was closed. A flyover is being constructed in North Lucknow. The work on this
flyover was started when Mulayam Singhji was Chief Minister. It was sanctioned

when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister of India. But the work on flyover
is yet to be completed. In the name of resources in Railways rail fares are being
increased in higher classes, on the other hand private airlines are decreasing air
fares for economy class. In such a situation Railways will get no passengers and
people will prefer airlines. Due to poor performance, less goods are being
transported by Railways. Freight was a major source of revenue for Railways.
With increase in facilities and decrease in fares Railways can earn more revenue.
SHRI SAMEER BHUJBAL : A wagon coach factory should be set up at
Nashik and land power, water etc. should be provided for the above project. The
State Government should be given permission for development of ‘Nasik Road
Station’ on PPP and to make Odha station as Terminus. 8 trains passing through
Nasik to Mumbai should be given stoppages at Nashik. The Budget aims to
introduce air-conditioned services between Churchgate and Virar and CST and
Kalyan, provide connectivity between eastern and western corridors of Mumbai
city and increase connectivity between Panvel, Vashi and JNPT at Nhava Sheva.
The Budget aims to cut travel time between metros via faster trains.
SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL : Railways is the lifeline of this country.
Filling of 1.25 lakh vacancies in security category be considered. There should be
a proper safety standard. Focus should be given on infrastructure and safety.
Budgetary support should be increased. Stations should be upgraded. World class
stations should be constructed. Deadline should be fixed for starting production in

ail coach factory at Raebareli. Regional imbalances should be removed. A
Duranto train from Gorakhpur to Kolkata should be introduced. Such trains should
also be introduced for Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad from Gorakpur. AC-I
coach should be introduced in Vaishali Express. There should be rail connectivity
from Siddarthnagar to Ayodhya. Barabanki, Gonda and Basti stations should be
upgraded. Adequate allocation should be made for north east railway. The work
of construction of Gomatinagar terminal and doubling of Faizabad-Ayodhya line
should be done in a time bound manner.
SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL: The night train between
Yeshwanthpur and Kannur should be split at Mangalore and few of the coaches
should be diverted to Karwar. A train from Mangalore to Bijapur should be
introduced. The frequency of day train from Yeshwanthpur to Mangalore should
be increased from thrice a week to daily. Mangalore railway station should be
developed into a World-class railway station with international facilities. Duranto
service between Bangalore and Mumbai should be provided. New passenger trains
connecting Mangalore with Bijapur, Hubli, Delhi and Howrah, push-pull trains
between Sakaleshpur and Subramanya Road, Mangalroe and Subramanya Road,
Dharwad and Madurai and Dharwad and Kanyakumari should be introduced.
Sanction should be given to two commuter rail projects, one around Bangalore and
one between Mangalore and Subramanya. Electronic Display Board and sufficient
lighting arrangements should be provided. It is necessary to provide more coaches

for all the trains. Intensive Check Posts should be set up to curb the ticket- less
travel in unreserved segments at important stations. Hassan-Bengaluru line should
be completed as early as possible. Mangalore railway division should be formed
consisting Kasaragodu to Goa and Mangalore to Sakaleshpur. Mangalore station
should be merged with Mysore Division. The Yashwanthpur- Kannur Train
should be discontinued at Kannur from Mangalore Central Station. Project on
improving secondary service facility on PPP model with the Karnataka State
Government at Subramanya Road. Introduce DEIVIU train instead of existing
passenger train to Subramanya Road. The Government should take steps for
speedy completion of doubling of railway line between Kankanady (Mangalore
junction) and Panambur. The important tourist places should be mentioned in the
Railway Time Table Book.
SHRI TUFANI SAROJ : I heartily support the Rail Budget laid by the
previous Rail Minister Shri Dinesh TrivediJi. Today the Railway is running on
loans and with the grant provided by the Government. We expect to have good
things such as the modernization of the railway, the toilets at the platforms and
stations with cleanliness with better catering services at the Railway station. When
we wish to see the Railways in a better condition then we will have to think over
its source of income seriously.
At least 24-25 bogies should be attached in the express trains running with
16-18 bogies, should be increased. The rates of the advertisements that are

displayed at small and big stations should be increased. Jagdispur railway crossing
falls by the side of Jaunpur city and an overbridge should be constructed there.
Jaunpur city may be linked with Sultanpur rail line by constructing a bye pass near
Gaumti bridge.
A new train should be introduced from Balia to Auriyar via Jaunpur,
Jaffarabad and Janghai. The Patna-Mathura express train should be given a halt at
Jaunpur. All the unmamned level crossings in the country should be converted
into manned level crossings immediately.
DR. BALIRAM : The slight increase in the fare made for the coaches
mostly used by the poor people should be rolled back. There should be
arrangements for the safety of passengers of the trains and they should be made
available special facility.
The level of the second platform of Azamgarh station should be raised
immediately and a foot over bridge should be constructed to facilitate passengers
going from one platform from other. All trains that starts from Lucknow for Delhi
should be provided full quota from Azamgarh. The time of the Kaffiat Express
which starts at 4.30 hrs should be changed to 4.00 hrs and the timing of the train
starting from this side is 7.25 hrs should be changed 4.30 hrs. The Kaffiat Express
should be provided a halt of two minutes at Srai-E-Mir Railway station. An over
bridge is under construction in Azamgarh which is yet to be completed.

A train has been introduced from Barrackpur to Azamgarh, kindly extend it
upto Kolkata. A super fast intercity express train from Balia to Lucknow via Mau,
Azamgarh, Faizabad should be introduced. The doubling of Varanasi to Allahabad
rail line is going on and it should be extended upto Pratapgarh. An underground
crossing should be made near Akbarpur station and Kaffiat Express should be
provided with a Pantry Car, and the bed rolls being provided in this train should be
thoroughly neat and clean.
SHRI RAJARAM PAL: I urge that Kanpur-Farukhabad rail route be
diverted to Kanpur Central to Panki- Mandhna –Farukhabad. Mandhna to Vithur
line should be converted into broad-gauge and a new train should be started and
connected to Luknow - Unnao crossing the river Ganga. Rura station should be
upgraded to a model station and ROB should be constructed at Rura. Kanpur-
Delhi passenger trains should be provided a halt at Roshanmau By Block Hut after
constructing a new railway station there. Kanpur-Chitrakoot Inter-city express
should be provided a halt at Kathara, Patara and Hamirpur Road. A level crossing
should be constructed at Bhimsen station. A manned railway crossing should be
constructed at Kaziganj Hasauli. All the trains should be provided stoppage at
Lalpur Purvaraya on Kanpur-Jhansi rail route.
SHRI ABDUL RAHMAN : I welcome the Railway Budget in which
priority has been given to the safety and security measures. Regarding complete
removal of railway crossings, I would like to ask why the level crossings are to be

closed by having such a long period of five years when these kind of unfortunate
accidents are getting increased every day. Steps proposed to be taken for
development and modernization are appreciable but they are not adequate. Ambur
Railway station was declared to be made as a model station. But construction work
on platform of this station is yet to be completed. So, Railway Ministry should
concentrate on the completion of the projects. Online reservation facilities are
there in different platforms including Vaniyambadi in Vellore including but
adequate manpower is not available. The Vellore-Viluppuram BG line has been
done so I would request the Railway Ministery to restore the old passenger train
services. BG line conversion of Mayiladuthurai to Karaikudi has been completed.
The remaining portion is from Tiruvarur to Karaikudi. But instead of continuing
from Tiruvarur to Karaikudi, we came to know now that from Karaikudi the job
has already been proposed to start. So, I request the Railway Ministry to continue
from Tiruvarur.
SHRI DILIIPKUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI: Ahmadnagar
Railway station has been declared as a model station and Rs 50 crores have been
allocated in the budget for Ahmadnagar- Parli rail line.
I would like to place a demand before hon’ble Minister of Railways that the
following trains should have stoppage at Ahmadnagar railway station: Pune-
Gorakhpur Sampark Kranti; Pune – Lukhnow Express; Sainagar – Mumbai (The
train should have stoppages at Belwandi and Sarola stations and the train must

have two parcel wagons to carry fresh vegetables, fruits etc. to Mumbai); Sirdi-
Pandharpur Express be run everyday and this train should have stoppages at
Shrigondha and Rahuri.
Construction of Over bridges: Rahuri Station Pashi level crossing Gate no. 40; Aaran
Goan (Baramati- Daud – Ahmadnagar state highway); Shrigondha-Belwandi level
crossing Gate no.12.
Rs. 100 to 150 crores be allocated every year for Ahmadnagar –Parli Rail Line.
Up gradation of Ahmadnagar Railway Station: A model of an old rail engine be
placed at the station; A survey be conducted for Ahmadnagar – Pune new rail line;
A 30 KM. Long Code line be laid between Ahmadnagar to Pune; A shuttle service
between Ahmadnagar -Pune be introduced at the earliest.
SHRI ANTO ANTONY : I congratulate the Government for
introducing a progressive and realistic railway budget. It is positive and reformist
and forward looking. An independent railway tariff regulatory authority should be
established, for the development and infrastructure building of Railways. A More
far-reaching idea is to establish dynamic fares that will have a fuel adjustment
component (FAC). The FAC will insulate the railways' finances from the ruinous
effects of rising fuel prices. Both ideas are ahead of their times. Dedicated Freight
Corridor is the most important project needing to be completed on a highest
priority. Private participation will be helpful to raise financial resources for the
modernization of railway stations.

SHRI SYED SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN: I request that Narayanpur,
Ghogha, Shiv Narayanpur and Nath Nagar stations in my parliamentary
constituency Bhagalpur should also be declared as model stations. There are two
railway lines in Bhagalpur, one rail line is on. Jamalpur Hawrah Route which is in
Bhagalpur city; second rail line is Katihar Barauni which goes through Nogachhiya
of Bhagalpur. None of the trains on this route have stoppage point at Naugachhia.
There used to be Railway Loco Shed in Thana Bihpur which has been now left
vacant since long. There are railway quarters also in that campus which are vacant
presently. I request you that this campus should be developed as a hub of central
railway. Ajmer Bhagalpur weekly train should be renamed as Shehbajia-Garib-
Nawaj express. The Anga Express should be run on daily basis. The 2335-2336
Bhagalpur-Lokmanya Tilak Express should also be run on daily basis and a pantry
car and additional A.C. coach attached to it. 5203-5204 Lucknow-Barauni should
be extended to Bhagalpur. The Patna-Pune Express (12140-12150) should also be
extended to Bhagalpur. Providing stoppage of the Hate Bazar Express (13163-
13164) and the Tata Link Express (18181-18282) at the Narayan station.
Vikramshila Express earlier used to originate from the New Delhi and presently it
originates from the Anand Vihar Station. This train should again originate from
New Delhi.
SHRI RADHA MOHAN SINGH : This is 81 st Railway Budget. The then
Railway Minister stated that he has brought back Railways from ICU. Two

committees constituted by the formers Minister of Railways have mentioned that
Railways is on the verge of bankruptcy. Who is responsible for this miserable
situation. A provision for only 1000 crore rupees has been made to provide better
facilities to the passengers. Last year 1000 km long new rail lines were proposed
to be laid, but even 30 percent target could not be achieved. How will the funds be
arranged for the modernization of the Railways. It can be observed that the works
related to the modernization of railways, infrastructure and replacement of
unmanned railway crossings will remain incomplete due to paucity of money.
Committee has recommended that the old rail lines should not be overburdened,
but the Government did not take note of it and has neither reduced the number of
trains running on these tracks nor their frequency. Kakodkar Committee has stated
that an amount of 8 lakh crore rupees is required for the modernization of Railways
during the next plan period i.e. 2012 to 2017. Indian Railways can generate only 2
lakh crore on its own. The roadmap has not been prepared for the arrangement of
remaining amount. The schemes to install electric and diesel factories at
Madhepura and Madhura are lying in the files for the last 100 years and Vision
2020 outlined by the ex-Railway Minister Kumari Mamata Banerjee is also lying
unnoticed. Railway Minister has announced 820 new things in his budget. One of
the hon. Members was saying that ours is a welfare state . The poor people are
already disturbed due to price rise and if the railway hikes its fares, it will certainly
add to their pains. Delhi Ring Railway Service is not being utilized by even 15

lakh passengers in a year whereas 5 lakh passengers were expected every day. 21
stations are available but not even a single station is connected with approach road
and security arrangement is also not available. The Budget has neglected the
required upgradation of New Delhi Railway Station. The project to connect Nepal
and North Bihar is still pending. A number of projects worth 52 thousand crores of
rupees are still pending in Bihar. There are four railway stations in my
constituency, Motihari, surroundings of which are quite filthy. The rail roads are
in dilapidated condition. Through you, I request the Ministry that at least minor
problems be solved.
SHRI RAJENDRASINH RANA: First of all I would like to say thank you
for considering and providing a long route train, extending Ahmedabad-Asansol
train upto Bhavnagar. The most prioritized and required need of the people of
Bhavnagar is the increased number of Passenger Coaches in BANDRA TRAIN.
The only train connecting Bhavnagar with Mumbai is a Bandra Train, 24x7 this is
the train which is running with a highest income for Railways as passengers
preferred Bandra Train to & fro. A daily train between Bhavnagar to Surat is the
need of an hour. It should be started immediately. I would like to demand on behalf
of the people of my constituency, to allot a special Holiday Train to Bhavnagar
without further delay.
KUMARI MEENAKSHI NATARAJAN : Hon’ble Chairman Sir, I rise
to support the Railway Budget. I welcome the provisions of Railway Budget. I

welcome ‘Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana’ proposed in Railway Budget which
connects remote areas of the country and I specially thank the Ministry of
Railways to forward the Neemach Railway Line to Planning Commission. I also
thank the Ministry to include survey of Mandsaur Pratapgarh Railway Line. I want
that graduate level programme of Rail Technology and Rail Management should
be initiated in IIT and IIM as recommended by the Sam Pitroda Committee. I feel
that tenure of DRM and GM should be reconsidered and amended. Unless there is
de-centralization of different focused areas like control, signalling and traffic, the
system will not work properly. Accountability of each person involved in different
operations should be fixed accordingly. My other suggestion is about security.
There should be zero tolerance in this regard. Railway Security Authority should
be strengthened. There is need to strengthen research, design and standard
organization and prepare a data in this regard. We can follow the positive train
control system regarding control command communication and signalling as
adopted by the USA. Similarly, we can learn from European Train Control System
to have automated train system high line capacity. Sir, I would like to give three
suggestion about my parliamentary constituency. You have started Ajmer,
Ahmedabad intercity train. I would like to request that it should run at least three
days in a week via Chhittod, Mandsaur, Neemach and Ratlam. I request that
Bandra-Ajmer train should be extended upto Sarai Rohilla so that my
parliamentary constituency get directly connected to National Capital Delhi. If the

proposed Mandsaur, Pratapgarh railway line survey also include Suasara and
Sitamau, then my entire parliamentary constituency will be directly connected to
Delhi and Mumbai. There should be Pashupati Nath Express train in the name of
Lord Pashupati Nath temple situated in my parliamentary constituency.
SHRI S. SEMMALAI: Railways is facing a serious financial crunch.
There is absolute shortage of funds for implementing already approved projects.
Even for a project of more than 100 crores, only a paltry amount of Rs. 5 or 10
crore is allotted every year. At this rate, it will take 100 years to complete the
pending projects. In the Budget, there is no mentioning of modernization of tracks.
There is no focus on addressing shortage of coaches in the country. The Coach
Factory at Perambur in Chennai should be modernized. In case of an accident in a
railway station, there is no response team available at present. The surplus land
available with railways may be utilized commercially. As far as the passengers’
amenities are concerned, arrangements should be made to potable water in all
coaches. Bedrolls should be supplied even to sleeper class passengers at a nominal
rate. For the State of Tamil Nadu, there are no new projects in this rail budget. I
thank the Hon’ble Minister for extending the passenger train from Egmore to
Salem and request him to operate at least some trains from Salem. Athur-
Peramballoor-Ariyalur sector project had been announced last year. For that budget
allocation should be made. Weekly train from Bangalore to Nagerkoil may be
operated daily. In the Salem-Karur route an additional manned gate may be

provided for the convenience of the people. Work of conversion of bridge No.-244
with RCC box near Salem junction should be started. In the Salem-Virudhachalam
route near Deviakurichi, the existing railway gate may be restored in the same
place without changing the place. Foot over bridge may kindly be provided at
Omalur Railway Station. Salem-Karur passenger train should be operate as early
as possible.
SHRIMATI MEENA SINGH : I request the Minister of Railways to give
stoppage of train No. 2791, 2792 Patna-Sikandrabad, 2369 and 2370 Howrah-
Haridwar, 2367 and 2368 Vikramshila, 2327 and 2328 Upasana, train no. 2355-
2356 Archana Express, train no. 9313-9314 Patna-Indore, train no. 2315-2316
Ananya (Siyaldah-Ajmer) at Arrah in view of the demand of businessmen, students
and comman rail passengers. Train no. 12569-12570 Garib Rath which runs from
Anand Vihar to Jainagar twice a week don’t have a stoppage at Bihiya. This train
as well as train no. 12391-12392 Shramjivi Express should be given a stoppage at
Bihiya. Babu Kunwar Singh was a great freedom fighter of this country. Arrah
should be converted into a model railway station in his honour. An overbridge
should be constructed on Arrah Eastern Gumti. A train should be introduced from
Patna to Delhi via Arrah-Sasaram. Stations and halts which existed at the time of
Martin Railway should be constructed on Arrah-Sasaram rail section.
SHRI M.B. RAJESH : 75 new express trains have been announced in the
budget and Kerala has got only one train. I request to complete Palakkad- Pollachi

gauge conversion work in a time bound manner. A concrete and specific assurance
should be given that the Palakkad Coach Factory project will be completed in a
time bound manner. A new Railway Zone with its headquarter in Kerala should be
set up. At least one new train between New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram, one
between Kerala and Mumbai and one Between Hyderabad and Kerala may be
started. Hundreds of platforms vendors have been thrown out of employment
mercilessly. I request to look into this issue so that it may be addressed urgently.
SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI : So far as budget is concerned, under the UPA
Government since 2004, it has been converted into a political tool and for the first
time in the history of independent India that like derailment of train, a Rail Budget
has been derailed. The PM has said that it is a forward-looking Budget but a
person who has presented this forward looking Budget has been disgracefully sent
out. For the first time, we are discussing the Budget and we do not know what the
Government is going to say on the Budget because the Minister is not in a position
to reply because of political mis-management. In the Eleventh Plan, the total
expenditure outlay was Rs.2,33,289 crore. The outcome Budget shows that the
actual expenditure could be Rs.1,92,291 crore. It is a shortfall of almost Rs.5
crore. It is not clear why Government could not spend Rs.5 lakh in the last five
years. The power of the GMs have been withdrawn because they want that less
money should be spent as they do not have funds to pay the salary of the Railway
employees. Sam Pitroda Committee has recommended for Rs.3,96,000/- crore for

modernization and the Kakodkar Committee has recommended Rs.1,00,000 crore
for safety projects. But if budgetary support is not there, the Government is going
to put the safety of the passengers at stake. Karnataka has 14 projects sanctioned,
but it is all under State cooperation. No single project is sanctioned out of total
Railway fund. The cost of the Chitradurga-Davangere project is Rs.427 crore and
the allotment for this project is Rs.1 crore. If money is given in the same fashion,
then it will take 400 years to complete this project. The total allocation made to
Karnataka (South Western Railway) was Rs.1,278 crore. However, in the Revised
Budget, it was reduced to Rs.888 crore. Ultimately, what was spent was only
Rs.784 crore. So there is a need to allocate more funds. When Sampark Kranti
was announced, it was announced that the stoppages would be there only in that
particular State. This train is called Karnataka Sampark Kranti. I urge you to
kindly change the route of this Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express. I had
demanded for the introduction of two more trains, one of them is between Hubli
and Mumbai. The other one is train between Hubli and Gulbarga. Hubli Railway
Station is the headquarters of the South Western Railway. It was supposed to be
completed by 2009-10 but it is yet to be completed.
SHRIMATI DARSHANA JARDOSH: The Railways is definitely playing
a good role in improving the health of the people. Definitely maximum people
assemble together at the railway platform. With a view to improving the health of
the people attention must be paid towards improving the cleanliness in coaches and

at the railway platforms. However, unfortunately all the promises made in the last
budget for making a few stations as world class railway stations have not been
fulfilled. Surat railway station was also in the list announced but filth at the Surat
railway station has not reduced and cleanliness has not improved. I want to make
following submissions-
Surat railway station has revenue earning of 50 lakh rupees daily and this
station should be given a DRM office; no progress has been made to make Surat as
world class railway station and the work must be expedited; repair work of tunnel
below the railway track at Garnala, Khandbazar, Hanuman Road and Suryapur
Garnala must be done immediately; in many trains there is no EQ at Surat railway
station. Therefore, EQ must be provided; like the local trains of Mumbai
announcement system regarding the next railway station must be provided within
the coaches in all the long distance trains and superfast trains of western railway;
the number of general class coaches in trains must be increased because many
people travel even in the toilets; in the industrially developed areas in my
constituency like Keem, Sayan and Gothan railway stations ROBs must be
constructed; the work of gauge conversion of narrow-gauge track between
Bilimora and Vaghai must be expedited; in train no. 69141-42 (Surat-Virar
MEMU) six additional coaches must be attached; Bharuch-Virar Shuttle (59010)
should leave Bharuch at 3 o’clock instead of 2 o’clock because at 2 p.m. Jamnagar
intercity leaves for Surat and the MEMU train from Ahmedabad also leaves for

Surat; at Keem railway station stoppage must be provided to Jamnagar intercity,
Lokshakti Express, Dehradun Express and at Sayan railway station Gujarat
Express and Valsad-Dahod intercity should be given stoppage; at Uttran railway
station PRS facility and a second current ticket window should be sanctioned and
FOB should be sanctioned in addition to providing stoppage of train no. 19011-12
and 19215-19216; there is no direct train for North India from Somnath.
Therefore, a direct train should be provided; in view of the large rush of passengers
at Surat railway station Udhna railway station should be developed; a direct train
should be introduced for West Bengal from Surat; some time back the facility of
travel provided to MST passengers and ticket holders by paying difference was
discontinued and it must be restored; Bandra-Patna weekly express should be run
daily; Taptiganga Express and Surat-Bhagalpur Express must be made daily trains
from Surat in view of large number of passengers and huge waiting list; Western
Railway headquarters should be immediately setup at Ahmedabad; and Surat –
Mahuva weekly train must be made a daily train.
DR. NIRMAL KHATRI : I commend the provisions made for safety and
security of trains in the rail budget. I also appreciate the constitution of two
committees, the reports received from those committees and the expression of
willingness to implement the recommendations made in the said reports. A
separate post of a Member should be created in Railway Board with a view to
providing good catering services and other facilities to the passengers. This

arrangement should be made at the level of General Manager and DRM . People
belonging to professional cadre not to the engineering cadre should be engaged to
look after passenger amenities. Rail ministers come and go and make
announcements but there is no monitoring system to ensure whether such
announcements are actually implemented. The need of the hour is to stop making
further announcements of new projects and instead ensure completion of the
projects already announced during the previous eight to ten years. I thank you for
announcing the survey for doubling of rail track along Jafrabad, Ayodhya,
Faizabad and Barabanki on public demand, sending the survey results for new rail
line between Faizabad and Rae Bareilly to the Planning Commission and agreeing
to construct level crossings and bridges near Acharya Narendra Dev station in
Faizabad. Two years ago it was announced that Ayodhya station would be made a
multifunctional station. Now its proposed status has been reduced to that of a
model station. Still, I am satisfied that it has been mentioned in the budget that
work on this station would be started in the current year. There is need to start a
train from Gorakhpur to Rameshwaram via Ayodhya, Faizabad and Allahabad. A
new train is needed between Gorakhpur and Ajmer via Faizabad, Rudauli,
Dariabad and Lucknow. Faizabad railway station is in a dilapidated condition.
Attention needs to be paid towards the mismanagement prevalent in the parcelling
system, tunnels, ticket window and the reservation counter. There is a long
standing demand for construction of an overbridge next to Rudauli station on the

oad that branches off from the national highway towards Rudauli town. Six model
stations have been announced in my constituency and Bharatkund, Billarghat,
Ramghat Halt and Malethu Kanak stations should also included amongst the said
stations. Stoppages should be provided at Acharya Narendra Dev station for the
Bareilly-Varanasi Express as well as Sadbhavna and Sabarmati Express, at
Billarghat station for Janata Express, at Dariyabad-Rudauli station for Garibnawaz
train, at Rudauli for Faizabad-Delhi Express, at Bharatkund-Malethu Kanak station
for Sarayu Express and at Faizabad and Ayodhya for Surat-Muzaffarpur Express
and Gandhidham-Kamakhya Express trains respectively.
* SHRI THOL THIRUMAAVALAVAN: I express my appreciations for
your continuing with the Izzat scheme at the same cost of 25 rupees while
increasing the distance covered from 100 kms from 150 kms. Tamil Nadu has not
got a better deal. Proper fund allocation has not been made for various ongoing
schemes. Tamil Nadu is the only state where gauge conversion work to a stretch
of about thousand kms. have been kept pending for long. Kindly allocate funds
and speed up the pending projects. I urge upon the Railway Minister to take
necessary steps to upgrade unmanned level crossing, either as manned level
crossings or as crossing with RoBs. In the Railway Budget there is no mention
about the wiping out of manual scavenging. We must utilize modern technologies
* Original in Tamil

in maintaining sanitation and hygiene. Only in India we find thousands of our
labour class are being put to handle human waste with their hands.
The right to run the railway canteens are extended through the floating
tenders. I urge upon the Railway Minister to set apart adequate reservation for the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in getting these canteen licenses. I urge
upon the present Railway Minister to re-introduce the use of mud pots to avoid
harmful use of plastic. I would like to point out the announcement of new trains do
not touch much of Tamil Nadu. New facilities have not been created by Railways
in Tamil Nadu. There is just an announcement about a new terminal in Chennai
city. I would like to urge upon the Railway Minister to make Royapuram as a
railway terminal. Bhuvaneshwar Express Train must have a stoppage at
Chidambaram in my constituency. Railways are also requested to make Dhalavai
Eechangadu near Ariyalur a railway junction.
SHRI JOSEPH TOPPO: Hon. Minister of Railways has not paid any
special attention towards North Eastern States in the current Rail Budget. A daily
intercity train and another train has been extended upto my parliamentary
constituency Tezpur. But, apart from this, no announcement has been made
regarding any major project or rail service for North-Eastern States in whole of the
Rail Budget. No announcement has been made regarding introduction of any new
rail service between Delhi-Guwahati, the steep rise in passenger fares is not
acceptable. The heavy rise in fares will increase inflation even more. Hon.

Minister of Railways had made a commitment during Rail Budget 2010 that a new
Duronto train would be introduced between Delhi and Guwahati, but no such trains
has been introduced so far. The rail projects started in North Eastern States so far
have either been discontinued mid way or are lagging behind the schedule. The
construction work of Bogibeel Rail Bridge in Assam is lagging much behind the
schedule. Hon. Minister of Railways has committed to provide employment to
fifty thousand people in the current budget also but it cannot be said how far this
would be followed. The rail traffic in North-Eastern States is in the worst
condition. The main reason is casual and lackadaisical approach of the
Government towards all the schemes. Even today, there is one rail line beyond
New Jalpaiguri for all eight different States in North Eastern region in the country.
Public conveniences like toilets and drinking water are highly missing at most of
the stations in NE and work cloak rooms for passengers visiting from other places
are almost none at most of the stations. But the concerned Minister has no
programme in the current Budget to improve the said situation. The North Eastern
States are the most backward States, but the current Budget has nothing to offer for
them.
SHRI NIKHIL KUMAR CHOUDHARY: Katihar junction, gateway of
North Eastern India, has not been mentioned in railways budget. It is painful to
note that no southbound train is being run from Katihar junction. The junction
serves the passengers from Katihar, Araria, Madhepura, Supaul and Saharsa

districts. A new southbound train should be started from there. Train
No.12754/127753, Guwahati - Trivandrum Express, Guwahati –Arnakulam
Express and Guwahati –Banglore Express train should be brought to Katihar and
then these trains should destined to Malda via Kuretha, Pranpur, Labha and
Kumedpur. Yaswantpur – Muzaffarpur Express train No. 15228-15227, a weekly
train, should be run on 3 days in a week. There is a need to start Vaishali Express
12553/12554 and Baroni-Lucknow Express 15203/15204 from Katihar Junction.
The Railway has 111 acre vacant land at Katihar and a rail coach factory must be
opened on this vacant land. It is necessary to construct a ROB on level crossing
KB-I at Goshala Chowk and KK-I at Bhagwan Chowk. Manned level crossing
should be immediately constructed at Jhauwa and Meenapur halt. Alipurdwar-
Ranchi Express 15761 / 15762 should be brought to Katihar via Salmari and Sanoli
and from there, the train should be run to Malda via Labhaa and Kumedpur. A
pantry car should be attached in Amrapali Express 15707/15708 and Jagbani-
Anand Vihar Express 12487/12488. I thank Hon. Minister for making provisions
for two additional sleepers coaches and one AC-III coach in train no. 12487/12488.
I urge upon the Minister to add five more sleeper coaches and one AC-II coach in
this train. Bhandartal, Laxmipur near Kadagola railway station is an important
sikh religious spot which is visited by thousands of sikh pilgrims. The stoppage of
Northeast Express, Simanchal Express (12487-12488) and Dadar Express
15646/15647 should be provided at Kadagola station. It is also needed to provide a

halt at Durgapur and Haziyar. A survey to lay railway line from Tejnarayanpur-
Baluadhatti to Bhaluka Road in Katihar Zone under Northeast Frontier railways
and Kursela to Bihariganj in Sonapur Zone under E.C. railway has been completed.
The project to lay these railway lines should be expedited. A road-cum-railway
bridge should be constructed between Manihari and Sahebganj. A DMU train each
from Katihar to NJP and Katihar to Barauni should be introduced. The stoppage of
Mahananda Express 14083/14084, Avadh Assam Express 15609/15610 at Telta,
Pranpur and Sudhani stations; Radhikapur-Sialdah Express train 13145/13146 and
Balurghat-NJP Intercity Express 15763/15764 at Azamnagar Road station; Dadar
Express (via Malda Town) 12507/12508 and Lohit Express 15651/15652 at Barsoi,
and Amrapali Express 15707/15708 at Semapur station should be provided.
SHRI RAM SINGH KASWAN: Hon’ble Minister of Railways have
started his speech with Rail safety which is also very important. The maximum
accidents have taken place on unmanned railway crossing. There is approximately
450 K.M. of Railway track in my Parliamentary Constituency where there are only
40-50 manned and unmanned Railway crossings. This problem should be solved.
The Sarai Rohilla Train No. 22481/22482 which is running twice a week it’s
frequency should be increased to make it daily and it’s stoppage should be
extended upto Haridwar. Rewari-Degana passenger train which is extended upto
Delhi. Jodhpur-Bandra Surya Nagri Express Train No. 12479/12480 which is
running via Ratangarh should be extended upto Delhi, Train No. 54601/54602

which is running between Amritsar to Hissar via Ratangarh should be extended
upto Jodhpur. Train No. 59701/ 59702 which is running from Jaipur to Hissar
should be extended upto Ratangarh or Bikaner. The frequency of the Bandra
Jammu Tavi Express No. 19027 and 19028 should be increased from once in week
to thrice in a week. The survey work is envisaged to be taken in this budget. The
stretch of Sardar city to Sirsa and Sikar to Neem Ka Thana-Udaipurvati-Salasar via
Sujeengarh in my Parliamentary Constituency is selected for the above survey
work. The total rail stretch is neglect. The work for the same should be started
immediately. The stoppage for Rewari-Degana passenger Train No. 54809 and
54810 should be made at Biwad-Bhojan Station. The stoppage of Delhi Sarai
Rohilla-Bikaner Train No. 22472 and 22473 should be made at Gurgaon. Even
after purchasing rail ticket a common man does not get a berth to sit respectfully is
this is not a violation of Human rights. The problem of the common man is solved
if the number of bogies are increased.
SHRI SHIRPAD YESSO NAIK : People from all over the country were
expecting some relief from Hon’ble Minister of Railways but this rail budget has
disappointed all the poor countrymen. Hon’ble Minister of Railways has increased
rail fares in this budget. We are aware that money is required for the development
of Railways, but increasing fares for the sleeper class is not justified. My
parliamentary constituency Goa is a small State of the country but it is very
important from tourism point of view. Each year more than double the population

of Goa i.e. nearly thirty to forty lakh tourists visit Goa. We can literally say that
Goa’s development is development of tourism and development of tourism would
mean development of Goa. I would like to urge that the Vasco-Da-Gama-Miraj-
Vasco-Da –Gama fast passenger train which used to run earlier should be started
soon again. Gomantak Express which used to run between Vasco-Da-Gama to
CST Mumbai via Lodha, Pune may also be started again. Vasco-Da-Gama,
Tirupati-Secundrabad. Hyderabad Link Express train, which was discontinued in
the year 1996, may be introduced again. Train number 17310/17309. Vasco-Da-
Gama Yashvantpur (Bengalur) should be run daily in place of two days in a week.
Savarde-Kusvade South Western Railways stations should be made model stations.
Train number 8048 called Vasco-Da- Gama Howrah Express, which is running
four days in a week should be run on a daily basis. Train Number 7226 Bhagwati
Express should be extended upto Vasco-Da-Gama. Train No.2779 Nizamuddin
Goa Express should be linked with Haripriya Express so that Hyderabad, Tirupati
bound passangers can benefit from it. A new train should be introduced from
Mudgaon to Tirupati. Old Panjim should be made the Rajdhani Station. Karmali
station should be made a model station. Doubling of Konkan Railways should be
done. A new railway line should be laid between Solapur to Tuljapur. Palace on
wheels train should be introduced in Goa as well.
SHRI P. T. THOMAS: This Rail Budget is an important footstep to save
the Indian Railway. The fare charge increase is very nominal. It can be borne

even by ordinary people. My State Kerala needs more allocation for the speedy
development of railway system. Angamaly Sabari rail line is not sanctioned till
date. I request the Hon’ble Minister to give approval for the Angamaly-Sabari
route. The work of railway station Kalady has also started. The land acquisition
work up to Perumballoor is in progress. The Railway authorities should settle the
dues to the land owners. I welcome the proposal of Kochi-Madurai line survey in
this year budget. It will bring ‘Idukky’ in the railway map of India. The small
vendors who are selling tea, coffee, vada and dosa in trains are now-a-days not
allowed to sell due to the RPF Personnel. What is the justification not to allow
them to sell this tea and vada in the trains. I hope Hon’ble Minister will take some
positive action in this direction. The safety of the passengers is to be considered
with utmost important. The protecting of the passengers specially the lady
passengers to be consider more seriously.
SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH : I have a few demands. Most important is
that a demand pertaining to electrification of Itarsi-Manikpur railway line was
accepted in this year. The Ministry of Railways is targeting to recruit one lakh
employees this year. This is genuinely a good sign for the unemployed youth of
our country. Under the Izzat Pass Scheme which was launched for the poor people
in the country, the distance has been increased from 100 to 150 kilometers. Survey
work is going on at the Chhindwada-Sagur railway line. This year another survey
was conducted between Chhindwada to Udaipur via Jaisingh Nagar, Sagar-

Khajuraho. Funds have been allocated under this budget for doubling Mumbai-
Howrah track under the Ghatpindrai, Belkhedi, Jabalpur Section. Itarsi is the
biggest junction of the country and a provision of nearly Rs.1.5 crores has been
kept for this station under this budget. This was a major demand of my
constituency. I would like to urge that Jabalpur – New Delhi Superfast train may
be renamed as Shridham Express. The name of Bhopal-Jabalpur Intercity may be
changed to Shri Narsingh Intercity Express. Sivani Malwa is a big station. We
have the Tehsil-headquarters, sub-division here. There is a demand for a small
passenger train to that place. Train number 12112-12112 passenger train may be
given a stoppage there. A demand for stoppage of 11463-11464, Somnath Express
at Sohagpur has also been made. A stoppage of Overnight Express has been
demanded at Bankhedi and stoppage of Sanghamitra Express, 12295 – 12296 is
being demanded at Gadarwara. The frequency of Jabalpur-Mumbai Garibrath has
been increased. It is being run on three days in a week in place of two days. I
would like to request that its frequency may be increased further. There should be
allocation of budget for beautification of Piperia Station also. Kareli station which
connects Bundelkhand, should be developed. Survey work of Betul, Khategoan,
Kannod, Sonkutchh, Dewas, Indore should be carried out. I would like to thank the
Ministry for establishing rail engine maintenance workshop at Vidisha.
SHRI VIRENDER KASHYAP: Railways is facing serious financial crisis
and it has been derailed. The Ministry of Railways is facing difficulties in

development and expansion of railway network and in protecting the interest of its
lakhs of employees. There is little contribution of successive Railway Ministers in
the development and expansion of railway network in hilly states. In Himachal
Pradesh, only 44 km. railway line has been laid after independence. Rail line
between Dhanauli and Dehradun via Nalagarh-Bachchi-Barotiwala-Kalaamba-
Paonta Sahib should be laid. As per the survey conducted for this line, its estimated
cost will be around Rs. 3745.65 crore. Provision should be made in the budget for
this line. Kalka-Shimla rail line should be given status of world heritage and
funds should be allocated for its beautification. Operation of rail services at
Jarbali, Solan-Bruti railway stations should be restored. Flyovers should be
constructed at Sanwava and Chamba Ghat railway crossing. Beautification plans
should be formulated for Kalka and Solan railway station and Bhalkhu Museum at
Shimla railway station be made more attractive. Covered platform at Kalka
railway station should be expended and some more trains should be extended to
Kalka from Ambala and Chandigarh.
SHRIMATI PUTUL KUMARI : This Rail Budget has been prepared on
the basis of recommendations made by Kakodkar Committee. Sam Pitroda
Committee and Parliamentary Committee in the name of protection, strengthening,
safety and modernization in the railways and passenger fares have been increased
after the last eight years in the name of providing for safety. The hike in fare
ranges from 24 per cent to 48 percent which has affected the salt traders the most.

The goods are being transported mostly through roads and the trains are used less
for transportation of goods for some time. The Minister of Railways should take
note of this fact. Today, everyone wants to get more facilities and is willing to
spend for those facilities. But will the railways ensure that fair hike will result in
more facilities? A railway station was constructed in my parliamentary
constituency Banka and an Intercity train was also introduced from Banka to
Patna. The business community of Banka have been demanding a second class,
AC coach in this train. I had also requested the railway minister and written to the
Railway board in this regard but no action has been taken so far. A washing pit is
required in Banka as a train can run from a station only when there is a washing
pit. We have demanded the washing pit at Banka station several times because no
train can originate from there without a washing pit. But that demand has not been
met. There is no drinking water and light at this railway station. Basic services
and train services can not be provided there unless washing pit is constructed there.
I would like to suggest that as the distance between Banka and Bhagalpur is 40 km,
so a train can be maintained at Bhagalpur and then brought to Banka. If a Garib
rath is introduced from Banka, the people would be largely benefited. Three more
trains namely LTT, Surat-Bhagalpur and Bhagalpur-Yashwantpur run across
Banka. All these three trains may be connected from Banka station. Lakhs of
passenger come to Sultanganj in Shravan month and from there go on foot with
‘Kaanwar’. Several of them fall ill, so a hospital is required at Sultanganj railway

station. I would like to say that Mandar Hill project and Deoghar-Sultanpur
projects were started by former Minister of state in railways ministry but those
projects are being implemented at snail’s pace. I request the minister to expedite
the said projects so as to complete those projects on time. Daniyama-Shekhpura
and Islampur-Natesar projects are also incomplete which also need attention of the
Government.
The discussion was not concluded.
© 2012 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT
T.K. VISWANATHAN,
Secretary-General.
NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that
should be considered authoritative.
English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at
http://loksabha.nic.in.