CPI-M opposes railway freight rate hike

August 31st, 2009 YANGON - China Monday announced the handing over of 225 railway carriages to Myanmar as part of a deal agreed by the two countries in 2008. The carriages include 20 passenger and 200 freight coaches, and five engines.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways have carried 213 million tonnes of freight during April-June 2009, registering an increase of about five percent over that registered in the year-ago period. In the first quarter last fiscal, freight traffic stood at 203 million tonnes, the railways ministry said in a statement.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Friday said that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has done a highly competent job by presenting a pro-poor Rail budget.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Presenting the Railway Budget in Parliament today, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said that besides improving the loading of coal, iron ore, cement, fertilizers and foodgrain, measures are being taken to increase the share in new traffic streams like automobiles and fly ash. Banerjee said a premium service for container movement with assured transit time was under consideration for time sensitive cargo.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that the railway budget would be a "pro-people" budget. "It will be a pro-people budget, a simple budget, people's budget," Banerjee said after an all-party meeting here.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Inc lauded the rail budget tabled in parliament Friday, but said Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has not responded to the prevailing slowdown in the country's economy that could have been somewhat cushioned by a cut in freight rates. 'The Railway Minister has presented a mixed budget,' said Harsh Pati Singhania, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The financial transformation of the Indian Railways - which registered a huge turnover this fiscal - is different from the private sector that resorts to 'anti-people measures', Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav claimed while presenting the interim railway budget in the Lok Sabha Friday. 'The transformation of the railways is fundamentally different from the financial turnaround witnessed in private sector companies,' Lalu said in his budget speech here.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways will likely get Rs.200 billion (Rs.20,000 crore/$4 billion) from Japan for their rail freight corridor project, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad said here Friday. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will release the funds by the end of 2009, Lalu Prasad told reporters after presenting the interim railway budget.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Two percent reduction in fares for virtually all classes * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading in five years * But freight down in current year due to economic downturn * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor * Dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata to be inaugurated later this month * Kolkata Metro will be expanded * Frequencies of a host of trains enhanced * Frequencies of several trains across the country increased to daily service * Steps to have railway connectivity to Kashmir initiated * Railways have set up four call centres

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Lalu Prasad expects to cross the budgeted freight and passenger revenue targets this fiscal despite the economic slowdown. 'We are not only hopeful but confident that the budget targets for passenger and goods earnings set for this fiscal will be surpassed,' Lalu said Friday while presenting the interim railway budget for 2009-10.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Two percent reduction in fares for virtually all classes * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Plan outlay for 2009-10 kept at Rs.379.05 billion (Rs.37,905 crore) * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading in five years * But freight down in current year due to economic downturn * Revised freight earnings for this fiscal to Rs.542.93 billion (Rs.54,293 crore) * Freight loading target retained at 850 million tonnes * Estimated freight earnings for next fiscal pegged at Rs.590.59 billion (Rs.59,059 crore) * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor * Dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata to be inaugurated later this month * Kolkata Metro will be expanded * 43 new train services to be started in 2009-10 * Frequencies of 14 trains enhanced * Frequencies of several trains across the country increased to daily service * Extension of 14 trains envisaged * Passenger volume likely to grow by around 7 percent over previous year * Steps to have railway connectivity to Kashmir initiated * Railways have set up four call centres

February 8th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday blocked the way to a train in this Punjab city to protest the non-inclusion of Amritsar in the railway freight corridor plan. Sporting black flags and banners against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Sidhu, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member from Amritsar, and his supporters squatted on the railway track at the Amritsar station, delaying the departure of the Amritsar-Ambala train.

January 19th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Logistics major Container Corp of India (CONCOR) will set up a freight logistics park near state capital Gandhinagar, officials here said. Spread over 151 acres at Khodiyar in Gandhinagar district, the state-of-the-art project will be developed on an estimated investment of Rs.10 million (Rs.1 crore).