Indian railway’s freight business to increase

September 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways have decided to install biometric identification system at its vital installations across the country. The project will increase the protection of major IT installations and PRS (Passenger Reservation Service) data centres in view of the threat of attacks, which could disrupt train operations and damage database.

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 - Praising Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee's budget Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said she had done a "very competent job" and had not just ensured that there was no burden on the passengers but also taken care of their safety. Banerjee had done a "very competent job in a short period of time.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday proposed several steps, including launch of a premium service for container movement with assured transit time, to improve the freight movement on railways. Presenting her ministry's budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said besides improving the freight movement of its regular cargo like coal, iron ore, cement, fertilisers and food grain, the railways will take measures to increase the share of new items like automobiles and fly ash.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Amidst much speculation and expectations, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday gave final touches to the rail budget, to be presented in parliament Friday. Shifting from the claims of high surplus by her predecessor Lalu Prasad, Banerjee has maintained from the day she assumed charge that her focus would be on improving passenger amenities and rationalisation of services such as Tatkal (instant ticketing) service.

June 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Speedy execution of pending projects, modernisation of stations and improvement of passenger amenities are among the suggestions the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has made to the railways ministry. "Despite marked improvement in the financial position, Indian Railways continue to face issues such as outdated technology, poor state of railway stations, lack of basic passenger amenities, capacity constraints and shortage of funds for investment," the chamber said in a 20-point charter submitted to the ministry.

June 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The total earnings of Indian Railways during April-May stood at around Rs.13,709 crore, compared to Rs.13,266 crore earned during the corresponding period last year, reflecting an increase of 3.34 percent. Freight earnings have gone up 2.34 percent to Rs.9,340 crore during the period under review from about Rs.9,127 crore in the year-ago period, the railways ministry said Tuesday.

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 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 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 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

January 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The decision to increase railway freight charges will lead to higher prices of essential commodities adding to the burden of inflation on the people, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said here Friday. The railways have decided to increase freight rate for loading of foodgrains, pulses and fertilisers by 8.33 percent.