For the first time, the Railway Budget has been merged with the Union Budget this year. FM Arun jaitley said that the merger of railway budget with the Union Budget is a historic move.
1. A Rail safety fund with a corpus of Rs 100,000 crore will be created over a period of 5 years.
2. FM Jaitley proposed that service charges on e-tickets booked through the IRCTC website will be withdrawn in an effort to push digital transactions. He said that tariffs will be fixed taking into account cost of other forms of transport.
3. As many as 500 rail stations will be made differently abled-friendly by providing lifts and escalators.
4. Steps will be taken to launch dedicated trains for pilgrimage and tourism
5. A new metro rail policy will be announced. This is expected to open up new jobs for the youth
6. At least 25 train stations are expected to be awarded during 2017-18
7. By 2019, all coaches of the Indian Railways will be fitted with bio-toilets
8. Railways will integrate end to end transport solutions for selected commodities through partnerships
9. Unmanned railway level crossings to be eliminated by 2020
10. A 22% rise in the Railways Budget was announced
11. The finance Minister proposed a coach mitra facility which can be availed to register all coach related complaints at one place.
12. FM Arun Jaitley proposed to feed at least 7,000 stations with solar power in the medium term and said that a beginning has already been made in 300 stations. He added that work will be taken up for 2000 stations as part of the government’s 1000 Megawatt solar mission.
13. Railway related state-run companies like IRCON and IRCTC to be listed on stock exchanges.
