Railways to open 52 food plazas at stations

September 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Railways have identified 64 stations around the country to be developed as "multi-function" stations, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said Monday. "The expert committee on railway land usage, chaired by Dr.

August 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - Rubbishing talk that efforts are on to privatise the Indian Railways, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said she would be the last person to do so. "In some quarters there is mischievous talk that we are trying to privatise the railways.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The railways ministry has asked the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) to set up budget hotels at all major stations either directly or through the public-private partnership (PPP) route. "IRCTC follows the two packet open competitive bidding system to grant licenses.

July 3rd, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala got a fair share of the budgetary proposals of Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee tabled in parliament Friday. The small southern state which had long complained of being "neglected" by successive railways ministers got eight new trains, two new railway lines and a railway medical college.

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 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the rail budget for the current fiscal presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Lok Sabha Friday: - New train information system to be started in Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi - 50 mobile rail ticket vans to be introduced - ATMs on 200 mid and small sized stations - Integrated security scheme rolled out for 140 vulnerable stations - Special recruitment drive for the physically challenged, minorities - Committee under Sam Pitroda to commercialise railways' optic fibre network - Private operation of freight terminals to be encouraged - One doctor to be posted on each long distance train - New factory in West Bengal for making 500 state-of-the-art coaches annually - Janta khana (peoples' food) to be provided in railway stations - Railways will not be guided by economic viability, but by social commitment - Seven nursing colleges to provide employment to railway spouses - Medical colleges proposed to be opened through public-private partnership model - Cold storages and cargo facilities to eliminate wastage of perishables - 50 world class stations to be developed on public-private partnership model - 309 out of 375 stations will be developed with modern facilities - 50 stations at tourist, religious places to have integrated facilities - Infotainment facilities on Rajdhani Express for long distance passengers - Unreserved ticketing systems to be expanded from 5,000 to 8,000 terminals - Passengers can now buy tickets at 5,000 post offices - Air-conditioned double-decker trains for inter-city travel - SMS updates for wait-listed passengers - 200 automatic vending machines at key stations for selling tickets

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - All the zones in Indian Railways have been instructed to ensure availability of 'Janata Khana'. Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha today, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said that national and regional cuisines would be introduced in the catering by the Railways.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday unveiled a massive plan to revamp railway stations in the country, saying that 50 stations in large cities would get world class facilities, while 50 more would have multi-functional complexes. Presenting her ministry's budget for the current fiscal in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said: "The world class facilities in the 50 stations will be developed through innovative financing and under public private partnership mode.

July 3rd, 2009 MUMBAI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has come up with a series of proposals for Maharashtra, including non-stop point-to-point service proposed for the first time in the history of Indian Railways. Apart from introducing nine new trains to Mumbai, Banerjee has proposed upgrading three stations in the state - Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Pune and Nagpur - to "world class" standards.

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 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways has plans to introduce special facilities for the physically challenge's convenience at over 1,500 stations in the country. According to senior Railway Ministry officials, special facilities like access ramps, reserved parking slots, low height water taps and suitable toilets for differently-abled people will be developed in phases at important railway stations.

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Indian Railways' determined efforts will be to keep enhancing passenger amenities and comforts to a higher level, both in trains and on railway stations. In her message to the Railway personnel after assuming the charge of office of the Union Railway Minister, Banerjee urged all the railwaymen to provide 'service with smile'.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The railways ministry will carry forward the projects taken up by the former minister, Lalu Prasad, including the ambitious bullet train proposal, Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa said here Monday.

May 26th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today announced a special monthly pass for the poor, enabling them to travel 100 km for just Rs 20. Those earning below Rs 500 per month can avail of this facility,Banerjee said.

February 21st, 2009 RANCHI - The Jharkhand government Friday gave its nod to open 61 new police stations in the state, an official said here. 'The advisory committee of the governor has given its approval to open 61 new police stations in 19 districts of the state,' said P.K.