Railway Budget for the period of 2015-2016 shall be presented by the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today. So far all the Railway ministers have given top priority to their own states or regions for benefitting in next elections. Suresh Prabhu, who has floated to BJP from Shiv Sena, secured the portfolio of Railways. He may follow his preceders by prioritizing his own state Maharashtra or Modi’s state Gujarat. But many are expecting the best from him today like improvised safety measurements, more trains in busy routes, quality in services, etc.

Indian railways is catering nearly 23 million commuters every day. To serve the passengers, 12,617 passenger trains run every day and 7172 stations are being utilized for the transactions. However, passenger trains or coaching trains are not profitable to railways, and 67 percent of revenue comes to railways from freight (goods/transportation) services only.

The minister may not announce more number of new trains but likely to urge centre for financial assistance of 50,000 crore for completing the pending projects, for which railways need Rs. 1.82 lakh crore. More clarity is expected regarding high speed or bullet trains in already mentioned routes.

The views from the report of “Citizen Inputs for Railway Budget 2015-16”, Revised Collective inputs from 75,000 Citizens in Make Railways Better Citizen Community, in which 13000 voters participated,

Top priorities for Railway Budget 2015-2016 should be:

1. Cleanliness (43%)

2. Safety Improvement (35%)

3. Reservation Systems Upgrade (13%)

4. Food and Amenities (9%)

The railway minister has to come across clear agenda for completing the pending projects, announcing new passenger trains in busy routes, hygiene and safety improvements, Swachch Bharat mission in Indian Railways, and new bonus to the railway employees.

-Kannamsai