Mamta Banerjee To Declare Rail Budget Today

Mamta Banerjee To Declare Rail Budget TodayRailway Minister Mamata Banerjee will announce the Rail Budget in the Parliament today.

Banerjee is unlikely to announce any rise in fares.

She is also expected to introduce a special Railway Security Fund as railways have repeatedly come in for condemnation for not doing much to assure security to travelers.

The Budget may also see more Duronto trains being introcuced.

Freight rates of grains as well as plant foods are expected to remain the same as the Centre has been confronting a lot of criticism on the price increase issue.

Mamta has already devoted the budget to the "common person" and also maybe to the Assembly polls in Bengal by the coming year.

She is also likely to declare expediting project works of forthcoming locomotive and coach constructing facilities in UP, Bihar and West Bengal and growth of Kolkata Metro network.

With regular train mishaps becoming a major concern for railway department, she is likely to declare increased budgetary allocation to tackle the problem.

A few of the security measures comprise the execution of Anti-Collision Device (ACD) and Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) in some crowded routes.

Bettering passenger conveniences in stations and onboard trains, constraining safety measures that comprise lifting a special all-woman force would also find mention in the budget.

On Tuesday evening, she talked to Dr. Manmohan Singh and took him into assurance regarding the budgetary plans.

Soon after the conference, Mamta held talks with superior members of the Railway Board, apparently to exercise last-minute revisions. (With Input from Agencies)