LOK SABHA

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SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES

(Proceedings other than Questions & Answers)

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Monday, July 14, 2014 / Ashadha 23, 1936 (Saka)

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*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377

(i) SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY laid a statement regarding need

to provide the allocated share of water of Son River to Bihar under

Bansagar agreement and initiate pending work in Kadvan Reservoir

Project.

(ii) SHRI RAVINDER KUSHAWAHA laid a statement regarding need to

repair the bridge over river Ghaghara connecting Deoria district and

Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh.

(iii) SHRI RAMDAS C. TADAS laid a statement regarding need to provide

a special package for providing water for drinking and irrigation purposes

in Maharashtra particularly in Wardha Parliamentary Constituency in the

state.

* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker.

(iv) DR. MANOJ RAJORIA laid a statement regarding need to implement

Chambal Lift Project in Karauli-Dholpur Parliamentary Constituency,

Rajasthan.

(v) SHRI CHHEDI PASWAN laid a statement regarding need to explore

mineral reserves in Sasaram Parliamentary Constituency, Bihar.

(vi) SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI laid a statement regarding need to initiate

acquisition of land for construction of road along India-Nepal border in

Sheohar Parliamentary Constituency, Bihar.

(vii) SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE laid a statement regarding need to expedite

the gauge conversion of the Ratlam-Fatehabad-Indore-Mhow-Khandwa-

Amalkhurd-Akot-Akola Section.

(viii) SHRI A.T.NANA PATIL laid a statement regarding need to fix

remunerative price of agricultural produce keeping in view the cost of

inputs involved.

(ix) SHRI DILIPKUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI laid a statement

regarding need to improve power situation in Maharashtra State.

(x) SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN laid a statement regarding need to

declare Dughdeswarnath Temple at Rudrapur in Deoria district, Uttar

Pradesh as a tourist place and provide basic facilities at the temple site.

(xi) SHRIMATI RANJEET RANJAN laid a statement regarding need to

undertake rejuvenation of canals in Bihar to facilitate irrigation of

agricultural fields in Bihar.

(xii) SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH laid a statement regarding need to

release balance funds announced under Kuttanad package for mitigation

of floods and regulation of flood water in Kuttanadu region of Kerala.

(xiii) DR. P. VENUGOPAL laid a statement regarding need to share the

additional burden of premium over and above 2 per cent of the sum

insured under the National Crop Insurance Programme equally with

Government of Tamil Nadu.

(xiv) SHRI SUVENDU ADHIKARI laid a statement regarding need to

exempt the co-operative banks from the ambit of Income Tax Act.

(xv) SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA laid a statement regarding need to

provide adequate financial assistance for foolproof maritime security in

the coastal region of Odisha.

(xvi) SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT laid a statement regarding need

to acquire the residential Bungalow of Homi J. Bhabha, the eminent

nuclear physicist at Malabar Hill in Mumbai and convert it into a

National Heritage building.

(xvii) SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU a statement regarding

need to allocate sufficient funds to tackle the kidney diseases in

Uddanam area of Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.

(xviii) SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN laid a statement regarding need to increase

import duty on rubber.

(xix) SHRI P. SRINIVASA REDDY laid a statement regarding need to

establish a Steel Plant at Bayyaram in Telangana State.

(xx) SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV laid a statement regarding

need to accord „National Fair‟ status to Sharavani Mela of Sultanganj,

Bihar.

STATUTORY RESOLUTION

Re: Disapproval of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2014

AND

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (AMENDMENT)

BILL, 2014

SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY initiating said: We have nothing

personal agenda with any appointment in this Government. But the fact is, the way

the Government has been transgressing the domain of Legislature is a matter of

serious concern. This is my humble submission of this Government. It is because

heaven would not have fallen upon you had that appointment been done through

the regular legislative way. It is your Government, it is NDA Government that, in

the year 2000, had amended the TRAI Act to rule out the appointment of chief

regulators in any Central and State Government. So, now, the question is that the

day the person was appointed, he was not at all qualified for that appointment. In

spite of knowing the statutory disqualification of the same person, what had

warranted the Government to bulldoze the golden path of legislative procedure? It

smacks of a little hidden agenda. I would like to know whether the PMO was

unaware of the statutory hurdles of that appointment. Once it was highlighted, the

Government did not want to eat the humble pie. The Government resorted to the

Ordinance route. I do not question the integrity and honesty of an individual. But

only integrity cannot be the sole criteria for promulgation of any Ordinance. It

could be the first instance in the annals of Indian Legislative Institution where a

Government at the Centre promulgated an Ordinance even before proving its

majority on the Floor of the House. Your Party had objected many Ordinances

brought by UPA Government for example, the Food Security Act, the Anti-

Corruption legislation, etc. I am simply drawing the attention of the hon. Minister

and this House that this kind of Ordinance should not be brought in such a way. I

hope it will shun from pursuing this Ordinance route because Ordinance can be

promulgated only on extraordinary situation. They are referring to other financial

institutions where this kind of restriction has not been imposed. This Government

should not resort to this kind of an Ordinance simply on the pretext of other

regulators. So the Government‟s intention is very obscure. That is why I am

vehemently opposing this kind of a legislation.

SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY: I rise to speak on the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2014. Basically, this amendment relates to

Clause (5). A question is being raised as to why the amendment is being made and

it was provided that any member of TRAI after his retirement cannot hold any

position in Central, state government or any public sector undertaking. I would

like to make the Members recall that this Bill was passed in the year 1997. At that

time, a restriction was imposed that the Chairman of the Authority cannot join any

Government or the private sector. The whole purpose was to bring transparency.

This amendment in Clause (5) is to rectify that the person could join any position

in the Government after two years of his retirement. I fail to understand as to why

this is being opposed as there are so many other regulatory authorities where such

a restriction does not exist. The AIRA, the Pension Regulatory Development

Authority, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority, the Competition

Commission of India, the Central Electricity Authority, the Petroleum and Natural

Gas Board, SEBI, the Central Information Commission and the Warehousing

Development Authority are such institutions where there is no restriction on

Members to join any Government or private sector after their retirement. If any

such mistake was ever committed or any such anomaly exists then the Government

is well within its right to rectify it. In fact, this was with the basic intent to create a

consistency in Legislation. The second issue relates to as to why the Ordinance

has been brought about. If the Prime Minister feels that some particular individual

should work in his office and there is some hindrance in his appointment then the

same hindrance cannot be removed. This situation is not acceptable. It was an

over-sight. An over-sight has been attempted to be corrected. All the inadequacies

have been corrected. We shall respect the competent and honest officers in the

Government. Why should we shun a talent because there is a rule against it and

that rule needs to be corrected. In your Government also there were competent and

honest officers and they are working in this Government as well. We would like to

bring in meritorious people in the Government and we have resolved that we shall

never compromise with the merit. In UPA Government, the bureaucracy was in

shambles. With this decision, a message has gone down in the bureaucracy that

competent and honest officers would get the pride of place in the Government.

DR. M. THAMBIDURAI: Some Opposition Member objected to the

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2014. But in a

democratic country, when the new Government comes and whoever heads that

Government, he may have the choice to select his personnel. There is nothing

wrong in that. The Prime Minister or the Cabinet decided to chose a person, if at

all there is any rule against it or any hindrance against that, they have come

forward to change that. That is the thing. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in

that. The same person, served in the UPA Government as the Chairman of the

TRAI. I do not know what objection they are raising against him now. I do not

know if this is the reason because he submitted a report which sometimes may hit

them. Somewhere he raised certain issues which they overcame, violated and

implemented them through his predecessor. Ordinance may come due to many

reasons. I do not think there is any objection to that. Therefore, let this Bill be

passed.

SHRI SUDIP BANDYOPADHYAY: I rise to speak on the Bill of Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India Bill. At the moment, when the TRAI ordinance is

being converted into a Bill, I fully agree with Dr. Thambidurai ji that Prime

Minister can choose any officer, whom he feels fit for the position. We do not

object it and we do not oppose it because of the greater interest of the governance.

The Prime Minister Office should function smoothly. On this issue, our support is

assured.

SHRI DHARAM VIRA GANDHI: The BJP and the NDA all along ten

years of UPA rule had been opposing the ordinance route of bringing out various

amendments to the laws. But, the first thing that BJP did, within three days of its

coming to power, was to bring an Ordinance, to appoint a person for the post of the

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Though it is their prerogative yet this

route is undemocratic. The Supreme Court clearly mentions that the situation

should be extraordinary one. I want to know as to where the extraordinary

situation is. My second point is that he was the Chief of TRAI during 2006 to

2009. This period is very much is question because of the biggest scam in the

history of Indian politics. Both the Chairman of TRAI had been indicated by the

Supreme Court as well as the CAG during that period only. I oppose this Bill.

SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN: I rise to oppose this Bill. It is not the

question of a particular person being holding the Office of the Prime Minister, it is

the question of parliamentary ethics and conventions. The purpose of the

Ordinance is to bypass the Parliament. What was the intent of the Legislature at the

time of passing this legislation in the year 1997? You may also see the

retrospective effect of this Act coming into effect from 28th May, 2014. The

question is whether there is no other person to hold that post in the Prime

Minister‟s Office. Is there such a lack of competent people in this country? It is

not a case of an individual; it is a question of the Parliament. After assuming

power by the NDA Government, within 46 days, what is their way of handling of

the Parliament? The first one is this ordinance. The second one is the Andhra

Pradesh State Reorganization Bill which was passed on 11th July, 2014. The third

one is the tariff hike of the Railways. These three instances would show that

Parliament is not being given due respect and consideration in respect of the

legislation and in respect of other financial matters also. Here, the Parliament is

making a legislation for a particular individual. That is the question which is

agitating us. My point is that this Statutory Resolution has to be approved and the

Bill has to be withdrawn in order to protect the supremacy and independence of the

Parliament.

SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to

choose the officer to work in his office but at the same time, I would like to say

one thing that dignity and supremacy of Parliament should be kept in mind. There

are officers with high moral values and integrity in the country. What was the

need to choose the person by promulgating an Ordinance who otherwise was not

eligible? Besides, the institution has been marginalized. I would like to say that to

keep the honour of the institution the hon. Minister should withdraw the Bill.

SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE: We are not challenging the

prerogative of the Prime Minister to choose his staff but the way the appointment

was made was unprecedented. We are opposed to the new practice they are putting

in place. We are not opposed to an individual. But it is not fair to alter the entire

institution for a person. There has been undue haste in promulgating the

Ordinance which brings sweeping changes in future and there is something more

than what is being shown to us. There is question of ethics in it. I am not saying

that it is illegal. The provision was made to keep the authority neutral but today

when there is an interest, there may be scams and favourtism again. Therefore, I

appeal to the government to withdraw it. We disapprove of it.

THE MINISTER OF COMMUNCATIONS AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI RAVI

SHANKAR PRASAD) replying said: Clause 2 of Article 123 clearly says that an

Ordinance promulgated under this Article shall have the same force and effect as

an act of Parliament. TRAI Chairman could not work under the government but he

could work under a Company after some time. This was the whole anomaly.

There is a bar of two years for the Chairmen of certain bodies like IRDA for

working in the government. So, there was a palpable anomaly as far as the

ineligibility of the Chairperson of TRAI is concerned for taking up any

government job. He could take up a private job after some time but he could never

take up any government job whatsoever. Therefore, the first focus of this

Ordinance is to bring parity. A question was asked why this whole provision was

there in the year 1997. At that time the government was also an operator running

the telephone lines and therefore it was thought that perhaps the Chairman of the

regulatory body should not work under the government. The government is no

more running any telephone company. I have examined the matter and found that

members of two bodies namely CVC and Public Service Commissions cannot

work under the Government and rightly so because their job is completely

different. There is no bar for the Election Commissioners also. In the case of

CAG, there is a bar. Their jobs are completely different. The second issue I would

like to highlight is that no one questioned the integrity and competence of the

officer in question. The Prime Minister‟s right to select an officer is a secondary

question. Another point I want to make is that competence and talent in the

country should be honoured. There have been references to the dignity of the

Parliament. Our government is for the dignity of the Parliament and this is our

commitment. Some decades ago when the dignity of the Parliament was under

attack, we fought it because we are committed to the Parliament. I feel, I have

tried to resolve all the doubts. I urge to pass this Bill.

The Resolution was negatived.

The Bill was passed.

THE BUDGET (RAILWAYS)-2014-15- GENERAL DISCUSSION

DEMANDS FOR EXCESS GRANTS (RAILWAYS)-2011-12- Contd.

YOGI ADITYANATH continuing said: that the UPA Government has

caused damage to the institutions to a great extent during last ten years. The Rail

Budget has been presented in the House with a positive approach. Certain good

initiatives have been included in the Rail Budget which is a welcome step. At

present the major challenge before the Indian Railway is of safety. Rail accidents

occurred mainly due to two reasons, first one is fractured rail and second is

unmanned railway crossings. UPA Government did not pay attention towards

this. The Government has said that ultrasonic detection system will be installed to

prevent the rail accidents which occurred due to fracture in rail and unmanned

railway crossings will be made manned one. Two-three very important

announcements have been made in the Rail Budget. Imparting training to the

Railway employees through incubator centre is a very important initiative. If the

employees of Railway will be efficient, the working of Railway will also improve.

I welcome this initiative. I request the Minister of Railways that North-eastern

railway has been neglected one, there is a need to pay special attention towards

this. The trains are arriving and departing as per schedule but there is scope to

improve it further. Besides, the Government has taken an another initiative to

promote religious tourism. I request to give a Rajdhani train from Delhi to

Gorakhpur. Boddha circuits should be connected by rail network and an intercity

train should be sanctioned to Allahabad from Gorakhpur. I welcome the initiatives

taken to check corruption prevailing in Indian Railways. Railway incur revenue

loss of Rs.10,000-12,000 crore every year due to corruption in Indian Railways.

Gorakhpur junction which is pride of Indian Railways lacks basic amenities.

Efforts should be made to renovate and upgrade all the platforms of Gorakhpur

junction. The work pertaining to gauge conversion and electrification should be

expedited. I request that a divisional office of Railways should be set up at

Gorakhpur. I hope that our North-Eastern Railway will not remain untouched

under „sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’.

SHRI DINESH TRIVEDI: One cannot imagine India without railways. I

do hope that the Minister of Railways would live up to the aspirations of the

people. The Members of Parliament come to the Minister in regard to demands of

the people and those demands happened to be absolutely genuine. The proposals

of railway projects are turned down on the pretext of non-viability. India is a

social state and in social state every developmental scheme is not viewed from the

viability angle. I discontinued this practice when I was the Minister of Railways.

It was injustice to the poor people. Today, what is our image and what is reality?

93 per cent income of Railways comes from poor people. Most of the people

killed in rail accidents are railway employees who protect Railways at the cost of

their life. We people talk about Chinese railways we provide an outlay of 10 or 12

billion US Dollars to our railways, while Chinese Government provides an outlay

of 116 billion US Dollars to its railways. We had formulated a vision 2020

document. It was mentioned in that if we cannot have employment oriented

growth then the country may face many difficulties. If we want to bail out the

Railways we have three ways to do so. Money is mobilized from three sources.

First is budgetary support provided by the government and second is internal

revenue generation and third is the revenue earned from national projects. If the

government thinks that Railways can be viable on its own resources it can never

happen. Be it China, Japan or America wherever Railway achieved major

breakthroughs, it was due to the support of the respective governments. The

Government provided the entire basic infrastructure in these countries but what the

Railways is getting in our country? It is not very difficult to get the Railways

going. Until and unless the Government of India comes forward and gives that

kind of support it will never ever be viable. There is a mention of PPP model in

the Rail Budget but I don‟t know who will come forward to construct over bridges

and underpass under the said model. There should be change in the dedicated

freight corridor. The Government wants the best freight halt railways. It can never

happen unless and until we have more powerful engines.

SHRI KALIKESH N. SINGH DEO: I would like to see the Railways

continue for the next 30, 40, 50, 100 or 200 years. And for that, it is essential that

we have financially viable Railways. The Railway Minister increased the fares a

few days before the Budget. The reason, as he himself has categorically told, is

that the Gross Operating Profit of the Railways is a mere six per cent. Certainly,

when we compare that to almost a 40 per cent or 45 per cent in Canada, it is an

absolute shame. We are going structurally and fundamentally wrong somewhere.

One of the main reasons that we have very high operating costs in the Indian

Railways is the fact that the existing infrastructure suffers from a lack of

productivity and transparency. It is more incumbent on the Indian Railways to be

more productive, match up to international standards. However, in his entire

Budget speech, I have not heard him even mentioned once of raising productivity.

So, it is absolutely essential that an operational audit is conducted to determine

which Divisions in the Indian Railways, which aspects of the Indian Railways

conform to the international efficiency standards. In the most trains in the world

have a light or a signaling system, which automatically signals to the station

manager that the last boggy has passed. But here, in 60 years we have been unable

to mechanise even the small matters. Why are we not being able to develop

technologies for ourselves? For 4-5 years, important proposals lie with the Indian

Railways without taking a decision. The Indian Railways, own very little patents

but we talk of technology development. The other way we can increase our

operational profits is to utilize our resources optimally. There is no master plan in

the Rail budget to boost freight business which has come down to 30 per cent now.

The Duronto Express, started by them, have occupancy of mere 30 per cent. The

same Duronto Express can have more stoppages to increase the occupancy. The

hon. Railway Minister talks about new technology by putting in bullet trains. Its

main aim should have been to create semi-suburbs to major growth centres such

Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, etc. However, the hon. Minister chooses to pick the

sector of Delhi-Ahmedabad, which is about 500 kms. Cost of creating a bullet train

infrastructure is Rs. 150 crore per kilometer. Whereas only Rs.100 crore, I am

assuming that it is for a preliminary study and not even a proper study. I keep on

stressing the word „productivity‟ because our rate hike to increase Railways

financially viability is being completely side-strapped by the fact that the Railway

has in-built inefficiencies, which we have not been able to take out in the last 30

years and the poor people of India are paying for the Railway‟s inefficiencies. The

hon. Railway Minister chooses to walk the talk of financial scrutiny, why is it that

he announced 58 new trains. The Government of Odisha had asked for some major

projects as Rs.300 crores for Angul-Duburi-Sukinda Road, mere Rs.100 crore have

been given; Khurda Road-Balangir, which is an essential lifeline of almost 10

districts in naxal infested areas, a mere Rs.100 crore have been given against a

demand of Rs.350 crores and a total project outlay of almost Rs.1900 crores.

Haridaspur-Paradeep and Talcher-Bimalgarh projects are grossly underfunded.

These inefficiencies do not allow me to believe that the hon. Railway Minister is

actually trying to improve the financial viability. The hon. Railway Minister talks

about bringing a hundred stations up to global standards on FDI and PPP level.

We know that PPP in the Indian Railways has been almost a failure. Hon. Railway

Minister needs to have major reforms done both on the Railway Board level, on the

Railway Department restructuring level and to ensure that the resources that we

have right now are harnessed and utilized properly.

SHRI CHANDRAKANT KHAIRE: The hon. Minister has presented a

very good Budget, highlighting important issues like sanitation and drinking water

etc. He has made an announcement to start Bullet trains in the country which is a

welcome step. I urge upon him that the train under this Bullet Train Project should

be run via Pune and Aurangabad. I demand that Nanded division should be

brought under the Central Railway and if it is not possible to do so, a separate zone

comprising Vidharbha, Khandesh, North Maharashtra and Marathwada should be

created. I also demand that Rajdhani Express should be started in this area so that

the people coming to visit Ajanta-Ellora and Jyotirling can avail the services of this

train. There is a need to run a train between Sholapur and Jalgaon. Besides, there

is also need to run a direct train between Shirdi and Tirupati because people of

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana visit both the pilgrim places. There

is a long standing demand to run a train for Nagar-Beed-Parli and another for Jalna

and Khamgaon. We had also made a demand to run Diksha Bhoomi Express. So

there is a need to pay attention to all of these demands.

SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI: The Rail Budget presented by the Hon‟ble

Railway Minister is acceptable by the all sections of the society. The recruitment

of the women security personnel is a welcome step for the safety of passengers.

SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU: We welcome this Railway

Budget because it has been prepared keeping in view of the financial and time

constrains of the railways and with a vision of nation building. All the important

matters like passenger facilities, catering services and security issues besides

running Bullet train have been mentioned in this Budget. Today, post bifurcation

we are facing innumerable problems in the state. So, we need the support of

railways to tackle them. We had lot of expectations from the Railway Budget with

regard to Andhra Pradesh but we were disappointed a bit. Still we hope that justice

will be done with the states in matters of funds and projects. AP Express should be

extended a little further so that it touches Guntur and Vishakhapatnam cities before

it reaches the Capital. At present, there are four divisions in our state. Our

demand is that a separate division comprising the existing four divisions should be

created. In this Budget, there is a mention of setting up a new Industrial Corridor

from Vishakhapatnam to Chennai. I am of the view if this industrial cluster is

connected with railway lines, we could enhanced its potentiality. Besides, my

demand is that the train running between Gunpur and Naupada should be extended

to Vishakhapatnam.

SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL: The Indian Railways connect the entire nation.

This Budget has been presented by keeping in view of the whole country. In fact

this Budget will be a milestone in the history of the Indian Railways.

SHRI KADIYAM SRIHARI: Presently, we have six zones after the

division of the State. Three divisions are going to Andhra Pradesh and there is also

a demand from Maharashtra to add Nanded division to Central Railways. So, we

are left with only two divisions. That is why we are asking the Railway Ministry

to create a new division at Kazipet. Out of the 29 projects which are there in the

erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, 10 are from Telangana region for new lines. The cost of

these ten lines is around Rs.4,883 crore. But unfortunately in this Budget only

Rs.240 crore are allocated. So, we request the Railway Minister at least in the

Supplementary Budget to allocate more funds for Telangana projects. With regard

to development of railway in the state, our Chief Minister along with MPs from

Telangana met the hon. Prime Minister and submitted list of demands. But

unfortunately, these demands have not found place in the Budget. In this Budget,

only Rs.5 crore is allocated to the Wagon Manufacturing Unit at Kazipet. So far,

work has not yet started on it. We had request for some more new lines, new RoBs

and RuBs. But no mention had been made in this Budget. A committee has been

constituted in this regard but that committee is confined to the Andhra Pradesh

Reorganization Act, 2014, Schedule 13 only. As Telangana is a newly formed

state, it requires the attention of the Government of India.

SHRI B.S. YEDIYURAPPA: This Budget is definitely going to assist in

building vibrant India under the dynamic leadership of Shri Narendra Modi Ji.

There are 12 new projects adding up to nearly 750 km and 13 track-doubling

projects approved for Karnataka, but progress is quite slow. Karnataka was the

first State to have come forward to contribute 50 per cent of the railway project

cost.

SHRI M.B. RAJESH: This Budget seeks to dismantle the public sector

character of the largest public sector enterprise in the world. The whole thrust of

this Budget is on FDI and PPP. Despite the fact that the Railways have not been

successful in raising substantial resources through PPP routes. Before going for

such a massive privatization, the Government should have at least learnt the world-

wide experiences of privatization. We have a number of disastrous experiences of

privatization of public transport system and railways world over. That is why I

feel and our Party feel that PPP and FDI are not going to be the right options. The

Government should enhance budgetary support to the Railways. It is not a

wasteful expenditure. The Government is receiving dividend from Railways. So,

the Government has a responsibility to finance, support railway from Budget.

Your priority of running a bullet train is wrong one. In view of the fact that this is

the time when the Railways is facing serious and severe financial crisis and the

Railways need much investment to re-build railway network in the country. The

Government should change its priority. The most dangerous and the most anti-

people proposal of this year‟s Railway Budget is the proposal to link future

passenger fares and freight rates to fuel prices. This will lead to periodic,

automatic and uncontrolled rate hikes in future. My State, Kerala, has been

neglected badly and totally by this Railway Budget. A few days back I saw the

hon. Railway Minister, in his television bites, saying that the Kerala Government

has not acquired enough land for the development of railway projects. But I would

like to ask as to what has happened to the coach factory project of Palakkad for

which land was made available to the Ministry of Railways two years back. The

Government has not done anything about it. We have been continuously

demanding for a new railway zone with Kerala as its headquarters. No land is

required for that. So, why is the Government not announcing a separate railway

zone with Kerala as its headquarters? I would like to appeal to the hon. Minister to

stop all the moves to create more divisions and to bifurcate the Palakkad and

Trivandrum divisions.

SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM: As per the Government of India and

Hon‟ble Prime Minister‟s policy and their work pattern and as announced in the

budget‟s speech, government will give special attention towards completing the

pending work and projects. There is an acute shortage of passenger amenities at

Aligarh railway station and it is causing a hindrance in providing the stoppage to

other important trains at this station.

SHRIMATI SANTOSH AHLAWAT: The budget that has been presented

is a progressive and balanced one to ensure safety and security as well as facilities

to the common man and to accelerate the country‟s socio-economic development.

It is for the first time that far-flung areas like Meghalaya in North-East would be

connected to the country‟s main stream. Through the rail connectivity a provision

for a „Railway University has been made for the first time in the budget, which

would surely make a unique contribution towards technical and non-technical

education. Especial trains are being introduced to promote tourism industry

particularly the religious tourism.

SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL: I would like to thank to the

Hon‟ble Railway Minister Shri Sadanand Gowdaji that he has fulfil the

expectations of the people of the country. The proposed rail route announced

during the tenure of UPA government will now become a reality and the people of

the country will immensely be benefitted by this. I believe that with the

suggestions given by the Hon‟ble Members our Indian Railway will attain the new

heights in the next few years.

DR. YASHWANT SINGH: When we want better highways and roads there

is an urgent need of high speed trains and bullet trains on rail routes. In this

regard, I would like to congratulate the Hon‟ble Prime Minister and the Hon‟ble

Railway Minister. Madam Speaker, the Hon‟ble Minister of Railways has

announced a number of high speed trains, while Western Uttar Pradesh has been

neglected in this budget. Madam, there is no direct train my Nagina Parliamentary

Constituency in Bijnor district. The people of my Constituency have to take the

trains for Jammu for Mata Vaishno Devi Darshan and for Banaras from other

stations because trains do not have stoppages at these stations. I would request the

Minister of Railways to provide stoppage of 12238, 12332, 12356 at Najibabad

station so that people of my Constituency could be benefitted.

SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI: The steps taken by the Hon‟ble Minister of

Railways to strengthen the infrastructure through foreign and private sector

investment is the biggest public transport of Indian Railways and these steps will

be helpful in providing facility to the people. Five new long distance Jansadharan

trains have been introduced and thus the poor and middle class people will be able

to travel for long distances. In cities where there was a demand of trains, 5

premium and 6 AC Express trains have been announced which are meant for

important cities and thereby the income of Indian Railways will increase. To

provide rail facilities in new areas, 18 new surveys have been announced in the

budget and as a result of this the people who were deprived of railway facilities

will get the same. The operating ratio of our railway is 90 per cent. It means 94

per cent of revenue earned goes for railway operation and maintenance. From

remaining 6 per cent, a few is spent on construction of bridges and puliya and thus

a meagre amount is spent on rail development. Therefore, the Hon‟ble Minister of

Railways is requested to mobilise revenue from foreign, private sector and other

alternative sources which would help in early completion of long pending projects.

Gauge conversion of Ghodasahan is my parliamentary constituency has since been

completed and railways is getting more than rupees 1 lakh revenue from this

station. I would therefore, request to provide stoppage of Hyderabad Express, Lok

Manya Express, Sadbhavana Express and Mithilanchal Express at Ghodasahan

railway station.

DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT: Maharashtra is a state where first

train on the Indian sub-continent steamed off from Mumbai to Thane on April 16,

1853 in Central Railway. So Maharashtra should be given special emphasis. The

Hon‟ble Minister has tried to accommodate many works in the Railway Budget

and I appreciate his efforts. I want to mention some of the important matters

related to my Parliamentary Constituency for inclusion in Railway Budget. A new

line from Manmad to Indore, it is a cherished dream of the people of the State of

Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Nadurbar Railway Station may kindly be

included in the list of Model Railway Station for modernisation. The work of

doubling of Tracks at Nandurbar area is going at a very slow pace. It should be

completed at the earliest so that number Goods train and Passengers trains can be

increased.

SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV: The people of the country were hopeful

that the government will focus in its budget on improvement of railway‟s working

capacity and address the problem and corruption. But the government has

removed silent on these issues. The budget is not one as it was expected. Not only

this budget has neglected the needs of the common man but also there is nothing

concrete in this budget for safety and improvement in maintenance of rail network

in the entire country. In railways, there are some sectors which are sensitive. The

Government should think of allowing FDI in railways after vast discussions

otherwise the trains tracks and platforms will be under the ownership of foreign

companies and their sole aim will be limited to earn profits. Madam, the youths of

nation are facing unemployment while on the other hand approximately 2.5 lakhs

posts are lying vacant in the railways and out of them 1.6 lakhs are directly link to

the rail safety. No provision is seen in this budget for filling up of these posts.

SHRI RAM CHANDRA PASWAN: The Railway budget presented by the

government is certainly going to lead the country on to the path of development.

The budgetary allocation made for constructing Sankari-Hassanpur, Patna-Hajipur,

Khagaria-Kusheshwar, Hajipur-Sugauli, Vaishali, Sitamarhi- Jainagar-Nirmali via

Susand, Muzzaffarpur-Katra-Oral-Janakpur Road, Arah-Bhabhua Road Kursela-

Bihariganj and Muzzaffarpur-Darbhanga rail lines is negligible. Therefore, I urge

upon the Minister of Railways that the funds allocated for completing the said rail

line projects should be increased as per the requirement so that the construction

work could be completed on time and the inconvenience to the public could be

addressed. The allocation of money for constructing rail cum Road Bridge on

River Ganga at Munger is very meagre which needs to be enhanced.

SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA: Post-Independence Indian Railways

has undergone many changes both in terms of physical as well as economic fronts.

However, there has been lot of work left unfinished/ not taken up in many parts of

our country including Odisha where at least seven districts are yet to come in

Railway map. There has been a lot of Railway projects announced in the past but

not taken up and Odisha has been mostly neglected by Railway almost in a

systemic way. I have a strong hope that the trend will be reversed in the tenure of

this present government.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: In his maiden budget Railway

Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has done well to emphasize passengers

amenities, an area that received limited attention from his predecessors. Rail

Minister has added 58 new trains to an already unwieldy list. However, Minister

has promised a lot more PPP including for the first time, in the actual Railway

operations. There is, as yet, no clarity on what projects are to be offered and on

what terms. In 2013-2014 the Government had announced that the Railway would

raise Rs. 2000 crore through PPP to develop stations, but not a single rupee could

be raised. The Railways has met with limited success in attracting private

investors to partner in its development. Freight trains chugging at an average

speed of 25 kms per hour drag down the economy. Unless freight trains can pick

up speed, India will be shackled when dealing with competing economies. Further

I would say that out of 2432 km Rail route of Odisha, 670 km. which is 28% track

covering areas like Jharsuguda, Raurkela, Balasore are under South East Railway,

Kolkata. Therefore, these areas including Koraput Rayagade should be under East

Coast Railways by creating new divisions at Raurkela/Jharsuguda and another at

Rayagada. One should bear in mind that the money that is allocated in Budget

proposal, most of the time is not fully expended and East Coast Railway is an

glaring example of it. I hope this year, the money that is allotted for Odisha is

spent fully.

SHRI RAHUL KASWAN: Railway Budget 2014-15 is the budget which

will lead the development of Railways to its heights. This budget will prove to be a

budget to provide better amenities and security. It is people friendly budget.

During the last few years it has been continuously observed that there has been a

tendency to announce projects for the states but this time such projects have not

been announced and thrust has been given to complete the old projects. As it is

evident that to run a Bullet train an amount of rupees 60 thousand crore will be

needed. It has been proposed to raise additional funds through domestic and

foreign investment. Bikaner-Rewari Passenger Train, which was discontinued due

to gauge-conversion has been restarted. Ludhiana-Hissar Passenger Train has been

extended upto Sadulpur. Doubling the line between Rewari and Mahendragarh is a

fair attempt to double rail line upto Bikaner. On the other hand, the people have got

disappointed as their long pending demand to run the train between jodhpur and

Sarai Rohilla, Delhi on daily basis and extend it upto Haridwar has not been

included in the Budget. This train should be extended upto Haridwar and run on

daily basis. In the last Budget Jodhpur-Kamakhya weekly train was announced

which has not been introduced till date. This train should be introduced without

any delay. Sealdah-Jodhpur via Churu, Sujangarh premier train announced in the

budget should be made operational. Rail Under Bridge should be constructed on

Loharu-Dungergarh, Sadulpur-Hissar route and Ratangarh-Ladnu rail route and

Rail Over Bridge should be constructed on Sadulpur-Pilani –Jaipur road. There is

a long pending demand of laying 60 km long Hissar-Bhadara new railway track.

There is a need to conduct a survey in this regard and to construct this track. The

work of gauge-conversion of rail line projects in between Ratangarh-Sardarshahar,

Suratpura-Sadulpur-Hanumangarh should be completed without any further delay.

The gauge conversion of Churu-Seeker-Jaipur rail line should also be started. The

proposals to lay new railway line projects Sardarshahar-Hanumangarh, Churu-

Taranagar-Nohar, Bhiwani-Loharu-Pilani-Churu, Sikar-Salasar-Bidasar-Nokha,

Suratgarh-Sardarshahar-Taranagar-Sadulpur should be cleared at an early date.

SHRI P.K. BIJU: Railway budget 2014 paves the way for the private

capital and its maximum brunt would be received by the “Aam Admis” of our

nation. It declares its dependence on so called public private partnership, private

investment including FDI for funding its infrastructural and capacity augmentation

projects. The Blatant steep hike in the passenger and freight fares to the tune of

14.2% and 6.5% respectively before the presentation of the railway budget speaks

of the undemocratic as well as anti-people modus operandi of the Government.

With the railways turning towards privatization and FDI, the job security, pension

and other benefits that used to attract the educated youth in India, is going to be at

stake. The Budget has sounded high on Government‟s commitment to safety but

has kept absolute silence about filling up around 3 lakh vacancies in the Railways.

Kerala has been a historically neglected region for railway. Take the ambitious

project to convert the Punalur-Sengottai and Palakkad-Pollachi line into electrified

and broad gauge. This project has been bogged down by financial constraints. The

Palakkad-Pollachi line is also waiting allocation of Rs.150 crore for resumption of

work started four years ago. Decision to divide the Palakkad division to create

Mysore-Mangalapuram division and Trivandrum to create Thirunelveli division

will cut down the revenue generated from these zones. The demand for conversion

of railway hospital at Trivandrum to a medical college and a bottling plant at

Trivandrum has also been turned down in the budget. The demand for suburban

train service in Kerala has also not been considered.

SHRI R. DHRUVANARAYANA: In the Railway Budget 2014-15, there is

a mention about most ambitious projects like Bullet trains, new high speed trains.

The matter of the fact is that there are 676 projects worth of Rs.1, 57, 883 crores

sanctioned in last 30 years but only 317 could be completed. There is plan to

improve the e-ticket facility from 2,000 to 7,200 tickets per minute but there is no

mention about availability of IT infrastructure to implement this facility in time

bound manner. There is a mention about recruitment of new 14,000 RPF

personnel but in reality, there are about 3,000 positions already vacant and there is

no time bound plan to fill the existing vacancies. In the Chamarajanagar

Constituency in Karnataka, there is a wide requirement of Railway infrastructure.

The new line between Chamarajanagar and Bengaluru and new train between the

stations via Mysore is viable from the commercial point of view. Hence I urge to

give special attention towards the demands of my constituency. I also urge to

provide more funds to speed up the new railway line construction from Bangalore

to Chamarajanagar via Kollegal, Malavalli and Kanakpura and to start a new direct

train between Bangalore to Chamarajanagar via Mysore. Majority of the daily

labourers, women, students and other people are depending on the train between

Bangalore and Chamarajanagar. People can access the medical facilities which

exist in the state capital if this new train gets implemented at the earliest.

Chamarajanagar District is known for its rich forest cover and cultural diversity

which makes Chamarajanagar district best suited destination for Eco-Tourism.

New direct train from Bangalore to Chamarajanagar will help to boost the Eco-

Tourism activities.

SHRIMATI P.K. SHREEMATHI TEACHER: The budget lacks vision.

Even after an increase of 14.2 per cent in passenger fares and 6.5 per cent in freight

tariff, the Railways had to spend 94 paise for every rupee earned, leaving surplus

of just six paise. Bullet trains will require new infrastructure worth Rs.60,000 crore

for a short distance of 500 kilometres, the high speed train can make do with

upgrading the existing network to allow speeds between 160 and 200 kmph. For

the first time, Kerala has been totally ignored in the current Railway Budget. The

lone relief given to Kerala is a passenger train from Baindur in Karnataka to

Kasargode. Another pittance is a survey for a new railway line from Kanjangode

to Panathoor in Karnataka border. Budget has completely ignored the demands put

forward by the Kerala Government and the Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad

Railway Divisions. There is a total neglect towards the proposed (i) Kanjikkode

Coach Factory and (ii) the Wagon Component Factory in Cherthala. The newly

formed Tiruvananthapuram-Chengannoor suburban project also could not find

place in the budget. The Minister has announced 58 new trains and extended the

route of 11 trains in the new budget. The projects are, the doubling up of lines from

Ernakulam via Kottayam and Alleppey, electrification of Shornur-Mangalapuram

route and Conversion of Palakkad-Pollachi, Kollam-Shenkottai routes broad gauge

line. Due to shortage of funds, during the last 11 years, the doubling up work in

the Alleppey, Kottayam routes could be completed only for just 51 kilometres.

The Shornur-Mangalapuram line‟s electrification can expected to be completed

only by 2016. Adequate fund allocation has not been done for conversion of

metre-gauge to broad gauge lines from Punalur to Shenkottai. There is an urgent

need for installation of modern signaling system. The State‟s demand for

development of the Kochuveli terminal and Coaching Depots at Nemom and

Kottayam are hanging fire. Earlier assurances from Railways on the wagon-

making unit in Alappuzha, allocation for the Angamaly-Sabari rail line to put

Sabarimala, the great pilgrimage centre were not fulfilled in the Budget. The

Chennai Bangalore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram high speed rail corridor did

not figure in the Budget. The State‟s effort to woo the Railways to partly finance

the Rs.3330.78 crore Rapid Rail Transit System was trampled down. The State

and the Railway authorities were looking towards materializing Railway Medical

College and OPD and Diagnostic Centre sanctioned for the State capital in 2009-

10 and the Bottling plant for making available drinking water to the commuters.

The dream project of Kerala called Kannur Airport is under construction. There is

an urgent need for construction of a railway link to the upcoming airport. This

request of the Kerala Government for construction of Kannur-Mattannoor railway

line is pending for the last three years. As per the survey report, an amount of

Rs.237 crore is required for the proposed Kannur-Mattannoor 23 kilometre railway

line. Our railway tracks should be made free from the nauseating smell of human

waste . The project of bio-toilets should be implemented at the earliest. Air

conditioned coaches of Kerala bound trains are outdated and infested with rats and

cockroaches. The sliding glass of the toilets of the coaches have been missing. It

results in lot of inconvenience to the passengers, especially the lady passengers.

The toilets are not cleaned at various stations. Water is not available pipes and

taps are missing in the toilets. Window shutters do not close properly. Coaches of

the Kerala bound trains should be replaced with new coaches. Warm clothes

issued to the passengers are never washed/dry cleaned. It leads to spread of

diseases using such unclean warm clothes.

SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK: The people of Maharashtra are not

happy with this Budget. Mumbai and Maharashtra have played a very important

role in the economy of the country. However, the budgetary provisions for new or

old railway lines in Maharashtra have not been commensurate with the importance

of this State. Several new trains were proposed to be started for several districts in

Maharashtra but no budgetary provisions for the same has been made in the

Budget. All the stations in Mumbai are very crowded. Therefore, more ATV

machines and escalators should be installed there. There is a need to provide

multi-level parking at Railway stations in Mumbai due to them being situated in

very congested areas. CCTV cameras should be installed in ladies coaches.

Proposals of laying Pune-Nasik and Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur double railway lines

need to be reconsidered. Budgetary provisions be made for Karad-Chiplun and

Baramati-Lonand railway lines. The Mumbai-Bengaluru industrial corridor train

announced in the Budget should be run via Kolhapur so that the development of

Kolhapur-Satara region could be ensured through this train. Kolhapur railway

station should be developed as a model railway station. Budgetary provision

should be made for Kolhapur-Howrah, Kolhapur-Ahmedabad, Kolhapur-Konkan

and Kolhapur-Mumbai fast train in the supplementary demands of the budget. The

hike in passenger fares and freight rates needs to be rolled back.

SHRI B. SENGUTTUVAN: The aspirational projects, such as the

introduction of the Bullet Train, Diamond Quadrilateral Railway lines and

participation of private sector are the highlights of the Rail Budget. The nearest

major railway junction to Vellore is Katpadi. Gauge conversion work on Katpadi-

Villupuram Sector and plying of more Express Trains bound for the Southern

Destinations in Tamil Nadu on this route would decongest the Chennai-Erode line.

Overhead Railway Bridge at Ariyur Level Crossing in Vellore-Villupuram Line in

Vellore Corporation would provide an easy route to the famed Golden Temple

situated in Ariyur. Stopping of Superfast Express Trains, Inter-city Express:

Chennai-Coimbatore [Train No.12679 and the down train 12980]

Tiruvananthpuram-Chennai Express [Train No.12695 and the down train 12676]

and Chennai-Banglore Intercity Express [Train No.12609 and down Train 12610]

at Gudiyattam. Gudiyattam is a town with business activities of manufacturing

lungis, matches and beedis and having contacts with businessmen in Bangalore,

Tirvandrum and Coimbatore. But there is no proper rail-connectivity exists for the

people of Guidyattam to proceed to Bangalore, Coimbatore and Trivandrum. The

stopping of these trains at Gudiyattam would go a long way in raising the revenue

for the Railways. Since Banglore is situated off National Highway No.46, the train

services to this town is a must. Gudiyattam Town in about 155 kms away from

Chennai and not within the radius of 150 KMs. So the train travellers narrowly

miss the eligibility for issue of Season Tickets. Season Ticket facility made

available to them. Katpadi Railway Station which received large influx of

passengers coming of Vellore as tourists, pilgrims to golden temple and patients to

CMC Hospitals and students to VIT Univ is not adequately equipped with

amenities to handle this kind of passenger influx. Therefore, the Katpadi station

may be upgraded and modernized. A help desk may set up at the Railway station

to help the patients and pilgrims.

SHRI K.H. MUNIYAPPA: The government has not announced even a

single train for the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi in the Budget. Provision for

railway coach factory in Gujarat be made. In the present Railway Budget there is

no mention of any new rail coach factory or wagons factory. The most important

area that I would like to highlight in the august House is that we do not find any

emphasis by the present government to encourage public sector undertakings for

railway in the country. Industrial growth is very important for economic growth.

Unfortunately, during the earlier NDA regime, the Public Sector Undertakings like

Udaipur, Lakshmi Hotel, Bangalore Ashoka Hotel – these were the public

properties – had been sold. They had tried to sell the Ashoka Hotel in Delhi also

but we stopped it. I would request the hon. Minister to be careful in handling the

Indian Railways. He cannot sell the properties of India in the name of public

private partnership. Try to get money from external sources at a simple rate of

interest. The State Governments are also ready to participate in these. After

independence, 13,000 km of railway lines were constructed by the Congress and

UPA Governments, and 6,000 km of unigauge were made by the UPA

Government. For completing the projects which are pending, the Railway Minister

wants Rs.5 lakh crore. The hon. Minister has to find out a mechanism as to how to

get money from external sources. You should take care of all the states equally.

SHRI P.C. MOHAN: First of all, I would like to congratulate the hon.

Minister for presenting his maiden and realistic Budget under the able and efficient

leadership of Shri Narendra Modiji. I welcome the suburban rail connectivity in

Bangalore City. At present, there are 25 passengers/commuters trains taking care

of one lakh people coming to Bangalore. The RITEs had given a report about two

years back stating that about five to six lakh people will be using this suburban

train connectivity within five years, if it is connected properly to the Bangalore

City. The RITES had also projected an investment Rs.9,000 crore for this project,

which the then Government had also agreed to share 50 per cent of its cost. A

third line should be created between Bangalore and Whitefield and Bangalore and

Yashwantpur. Doubling should also be done from Bangalore to Hosur Section.

Bangalore City Railway Station and Yashwantpur Railway Station need to be

upgraded. Both these stations are over-utilized and fully congested. The hon.

Minister has announced Baiyyappauahalli Coaching Terminal. It is a very good

news for the people of Bangalore City. There is a need to create halt between

Whitefield and Krishnarajapuram station. There is no cabin or platform. I request

you to make a railway platform immediately. It comes in my constituency in

Whitefield. Bangalore is notorious for traffic jams. For this traffic reason only, we

are trying to bring suburban train, metro and other things. Parcel traffic business is

worth Rs.1 lakh crore. The share of the Railways is only Rs.800 crore. The

Railways have increased the fare by 55 per cent in the last six months, resulting

further loss of parcel traffic.

SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV: Indian Railways is the

symbol of India‟s unity. I want to express my condolences regarding the lives lost

in the train accidents especially involving Rajdhani train during the past one

month. We should learn a lesson from these accidents and resolve that no more

accidents should occur. Increase in passenger fares burdens the passengers. How

long shall the passengers be subjected to this hike. Ours is a poor country

suffering from inflation. The railways earned profits of crores of rupees during the

tenure of the then Minister of Railways, Laluji. In each railway Budget the

passenger fare was decreased by Rs.1. The railways should became self-

sufficient. The railways should carry more freight and passenger amenities should

also be increased. Hon. Laluji‟s tenure was called the golden period and he was

termed a management guru. The train originating from Patna instead of stopping

at Anand Vihar railway station went directly to Delhi. Garibrath was started for

the poor. What are your schemes for the poor? The Government talks of Bullet

trains. It is a big injustice to talk of Bullet trains in a poor country like India. In

place of one Bullet train the Government can run 200 Rajdhani trains.

Government should run small trains. Wheels and Axle manufacturing facilities

should be set up in Dariyapur as well as engine manufacturing unit in Madhepura,

Bihar. DMRO office has not been opened even now in Bhagalpur. No fund has

been set aside for rail bridge over the river Ganga in Mungher. No announcement

has been made regarding the manufacturing unit to be set up in Jamalpur- famous

in Asia, though it was announced earlier. Wheels and Axle Factory and a cement

factory should be set up in Banka. Howrah-Bhagalpur Janshatabdi should be

introduced. New Inter-city should be started from Banka. Vikramshila Express

should be extended upto Banka. Necessary halts should be provided and several

level crossings should be provided. Train stoppages should be provided at

Sultanganj, level crossing should also be provided and the station should be

declared as a model station. Rajdhani should go via Bhagalpur. No funds have

been provided for even a single new railway line. You have forgotten Bihar, UP,

Odisha, West Bengal. The Railways should ensure cleanliness in trains, safety and

security should be increased, catering should improve, reservation should be

streamlined and youth should be given employment. Indian Railways is the

lifeline and soul of the country, therefore, it should be pro-poor.

KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE: I had requested the Hon‟ble Minister

for Railways to consider the following pending rail projects of my Parliamentary

Constituency for inclusion in Rail Budget 2014-15 : Introduction of a new Intercity

Express between Chikmagalur-Bangalore –(Daily). Creation of Mangalore

Railway Division. Mangalore should at any cost, be separated from the Palghat

Division, Southern Railways and included in the South Western Railway Zone.

Introduction of a Garib Rath between Udupi-Mumbai or Mangalore. Extension of

track doubling from Mangalore to Surathkal via Ullal, to Karwar via Kundapur.

Introduce a new train „Garib-Rath‟ to Mumbai from Mangalore via Udupi. I have

few suggestions to improve the railway network in my Parliamentary Constituency

Udupi-Chikmagalur : The completion of Second Phase from Chikmagalur to

Salkeshpura would provide direct connectivity to Mangalore. The survey of

Kadur-Sakalespura railway project has been completed. However, land has to be

acquired and the Ministry of Environment & Forests has to give environmental

clearance for this important project. The Bangalore-Mangalore express train should

be extended till Kundapur via Udupi because Udupi-Manipal is a educational hub

and also it covers lots of religious spots. The Bangalore-Karwar train route needs

to be re-routed via Arasikere. There is an urgent need for the upgradation of Birur,

Chikmagalur, Kadur and Kundapura railway stations as well as several other

stations in coastal Karnataka and Chikmagalur district. Hubli-Ankola new broad

gauge line is a dream project for the region and also the Vasai-Virar route to be

connected to Konkan Railway via North Karnataka. Passenger train between

Shimoga-Birur to be extended to Chikjajur. Renovation and opening of

computerized PRS Centre and stoppage of trains at Honnavar Railway station.

Proposal for introducing a new train between Virar-Vasai to Mangalore.

Introduction of a new passenger train between Subramanya-Mangalore-

Kundapura-Madagaon-Hubli.

*SHRI SHER SINGH GHUBAYA: Punjab has figured the first time in the

Rail Budget. Some new trains have been started in Punjab. The State needs more

trains. Shatabdi train connected to Bathinda should be extended to Ferozepur, an

important historical place. Chandigarh- Ferozepur train should be extended to

Fazilka. Doubling of several lines passing through Punjab is the need of the hour.

Doubling of the line from Delhi to Abohar should be extended further for 20 to 25

kms till Bathinda and 80 kms more till Ferozepur. Another trade route should be

opened up with Pakistan through Hussainiwala which will give a fillip to trade

between the two nations. If Ferozepur-Amritsar train link work is completed on a

25 km. stretch, it will reduce the distance between the two cities by 100 kms and

will also provide long-distance rail connectivity with Rajasthan and Gujrat. Rail

connectivity should be provided to Hazoor Sahib, Amritsar Sahib and Haridwar

* Original in Punjabi

from various places in Punjab like Ferozepur, Fazilka and Amritsar. The train to

Nanded Sahib should also ply through historical, and religious places like Mansa

and a spacious railway station should be constructed there. The stoppage of the

train Nanded Sahib via Sarai Rohilla, Delhi which does not stop at Malout and in

Mansa district be provided to the people of this area. All unmanned railway

crossings must be upgraded into manned railway crossings. A committee should be

constituted on the issue of providing new manned railway crossings wherever

needed.

SHRI AKSHAY YADAV: This is my maiden speech. The people had

great expectation from this Budget but they were belied. Fares were hiked before

the Budget. Has the hon. Minister ever seen how passenger travel in a general

coach? It seems that the coach is not full of passengers but hay. Each express

train should have atleast four general coaches for the poor. Will the hon. Minister

make arrangements for free travel of poor patients for going to Delhi for treatment?

Uttar Pradesh has not been given anything in this Budget. Whether the hon.

Minister will resume giving license to the coolies? There are 160 projects in the

country started in the past 30 years which are yet to be completed. I would like to

bring three such projects to your notice. First, in 1984, late Shri Madhavrao

Scindia ji had sanctioned the Guna-Itawa railway line. Second, about 15 years ago

the then NDA Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid the foundation stone

of Agra-Itawa railway line via Fatehabad, at Bateshwar. The hon. Minister should

give special attention to this. In 1996, the then hon. Prime Minister H.D. Deve

Gowdaji had sanctioned a railway line. Then in 2004, the then hon. President Shri

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had laid the foundation stone of Itawa-Mainpuri railway line.

With the passing of time cost increases. Therefore, I request the hon. Minister to

expeditiously complete the previous projects before taking up new ones.

Firozabad which is district headquarters should be developed as a model station

and stoppages should be provided for Howrah Express as well as Lucknow and

Kanpur Shatabdi trains.

SHRI R. PARTHIPAN: I have been representing Theni Parliamentary

Constituency as its newly elected member by the blessings of Honourable Chief

Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA. I made a fervent appeal to

your goodself to implement the gauge conversion of Madurai-Bodinayakanur Rail

Track path at the earliest. Bodinayakanur is one of the oldest municipality of

Tamil Nadu commensurating from British period and centre for various

Agricultural produce like Tea, Coffee, Cardamom and spices. It is a successful

revenue yielding section of Railway Ministry. This is the last meter gauge in

Madurai Division to take up gauge conversion at the estimated cost of Rs.218

crores from January, 2011. But there is no substantial allocation to this section in

the ensuing Railway Budget by the successive Ministers. Virtually there is no work

done in this section for the past four years. To fulfill the people‟s demand and the

desire of our leader Dr. Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA I am constrained to make this

appeal to your goodself to fulfill the long pending demand of the people of that

area in the ensuing budget itself by generously allotting fund to speed up the work.

This is one of the prestigious routes of Southern Railway and income yielding also.

The train was operated in this section successfully for the past 83 years and it was

stopped to fulfill the gauge conversion policy. It is of national importance to speed

up the project at the earliest without any further delay. If the project is

implemented this section can be used as a loop line for parking of trains as a yard

since Madurai Station became very congested and have no scope for expansion.

Thus, implementation of the project expeditiously will be fruitful for public,

traders, and Railways.

SHRI DINESH KASHYAP: The present time schedule of 18006-18007

Howrah-Jagdalpur-Howrah Samleshwari express originating from Jagdalpur

headquarters and 18211-18212 Durg-Jagdalpur-Durg tri-weekly express train is

not convenient for the people of Bastar. The train should be started from Jagdalpur

at around 6.00 am and 18211-18212 should depart from Jagdalpur at around 5-6

pm. There is no 2AC coach in 18006-18007 Howrah-Jagdalpur-Howrah Express.

In view of the public convenience approval may be given to add one 2AC coach in

18006-18007and one 3AC coach and an additional sleeper coach in 18447-18448

Hirakhand Express. Vishakhapattanam to Delhi bound 12807-12808 Samta

Express should be run from Jagdalpur at least twice in a week. Works related to

open computerized reservation Centres in Kirandul, Sukma, Bijapur and

Narayanpur may be included in the ensuing action plan. Overbridges should be

constructed on National Highway 30 on Vishakhapattanam-Kirandul rail route and

on Awarabhatta Highway near Dantewada district headquarters. Immediate action

may be taken to carry out the necessary works including platform extension, shed

construction, additional passenger waiting room-cum-VIP lounge, overbridge,

drinking water and healthcare facilities and GRP station facility at Jagdalpur

Railway station. The construction work of long awaited Dalli-Rajhara-Jagdalpur

rail line which have been accorded the status of economic rail line of Chattisgarh

may be started from both sides. Rail line from Jagdalpur to Kondagaon be laid on

priority basis.

SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI: I stand to support the Rail Budget. Hon‟ble

Minister for Railways has tried to facilitate the travel by rail across the country

through Diamond Quadrilateral Railway line. Modi Government will also play a

vital role in preventing the price rise through rails. The scheme of gauge

conversion in my Parliamentary constituency Lakhimpur Kheri in UP is still

incomplete. I would like that the broadgauge work at Lakhimpur be completed

and railway barriers be installed at unmanned railway crossings and a new rail line

be constructed upto Bichhiya via Palia Nighasan. A new train each from Lucknow

and Bareilley junction may be started for Dudhwa National Park and a Shatabdi

train is also required between Sitapur and New Delhi. Century train which runs

between Lucknow and Baliya should be extended upto Tikunia and all the trains

running in Gonda-Mailani division should be given stoppage at Khairatiya and

Majhra station. I congratulate the Rail Minister for this rail Budget and also extend

my support to this Budget.

SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA: Job-oriented and growth-oriented

vision has been there in the budget. Bullet train to fast train have been covered in

the budget. It is going to be a progressive budget for the country. At present, train

run for various states from my constituency Ambala. I demand that a special train

would be introduced from Varanasi to Jalandhar in the name of Sant Guru

Ravidass ji Maharaj. A provision has been made in the budget to make 100

stations as world class stations. Rail coach factory should be set up in Jagadhari

along with Pinjore.

SHRI BIRENDRA KUMAR CHOUDHARY: I support the Rail Budget.

There are several problems pertaining to the railways in Madhubani district of

Bihar State. Conversion to broad gauge from Sikri to Nirmali has been on progress

for many years. Conversion from Jhajharpur junction to Laukhan is running with

slow speed. They should be done expeditiously. There is a need of a superfast

train from Jayanagar to Mumbai. Garibrath and Swatantra Senani train should be

run upto Jayanagar. A new train is needed from Sitamarhi to Jayanagar via

Laukhan upto Nirmali.

SHRI PREM DAS RAI: I would like to make three points regarding

Railway Budget. Firstly, Sevoke-Rangpo is a very important project as it will bring

Sikkim on the Railway map of India for the first time in history. The project report

was prepared and approved in 2008. The work is delayed owing to various factors

like environmental clearances. Currently, the only connectivity Sikkim has with

the rest of the country is NH 31A, and people of Sikkim suffer due to this

infrastructure deficit. I request the Government of expedite the process of

clearances and pave way for railway connectivity to the people of Sikkim at the

earliest. The second point I would like to make is regarding budget allocation.

Only Rs. 50 crores have been allocated to this project which would be grossly

insufficient considering the project cost of Rs. 3,375 crores. I request the Hon‟ble

minister to kindly look into this. The last point is with regard to Mountain Sikkim.

Protection of ecological environment has to be an essential concern in the design of

the railway lines in these regions. Adverse impact on ecological environment has

to be kept minimal.

SHRI H. D. DEVEGOWDA: I would like to draw the attention to

paragraph No. 19 of the Railway Budget wherein it is said that during the last 10

years, 99 new railway projects worth Rs. 60,000 crores were sanctioned out of

which only one project is completed till date. What is the source of raising the

resources? I am not supporting or opposing it. When I was heading the UF

Government. The Indian economy was growing at a fast rate. If the Railways had

to keep ahead of the demand for transportation, rail infrastructure had to be

developed in advance and at a high rate. The travelling public wants more

facilities. The issue is the overall development. How could anybody go to North

Eastern States, unless you provide infrastructure like the Railways? Unless you

develop it, nobody would go there and you cannot expect the returns. Now, you

have the PPP model or the FDI route. At the same time, in several areas so far as

inviting FDI is concerned, a little more care must be taken. One railway line is

pending for the last 20 years, for which we laid the foundation stone – Hassan to

Bangalore, which connects Mangalore, the major port, and also the Chennai major

port. Nothing has been done in this regard. For 14 years we have been demanding

to connect two major ports of Chennai and Mangalore. But I was not able to get

any result. Everyone, irrespective of any political party, is demanding further

development of railways. Attention should be given on the issue of safety and

ROBs. We have still not completed the line up to Srinagar. We want to create

more jobs, more facilities. I welcome FDI in railways.

SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI: Thank you very much, hon. D.V.

Sadananda Gowda ji for making an announcement regarding running nine bullet

trains in the country. Kindly include my following demands in the budget by

considering them sympathetically. A train from Allahabad to Mumbai to and fro

via Fatehpur- Kanpur be run on a daily basis. An inter-city be run from Kanpur to

Allahabad to and fro. A shuttle be run from Kanpur to Allahabad to and fro. A

new rail line be constructed from Uchahar Raibareli to Chitrakoot via Fatehpur-

Banda. Bindki be connected to the new railway line from Etawah via Auraiya,

Bhognipur, Ghatampur, Jahanabad. Durga Devi temple be connected to the

railway line by constructing district headquarters Hamirpur railway station while

turning the railway line a little bit from Kanpur to Banda. One shuttle be run from

Kanpur to Banda in the afternoon. Uttar Pradesh Sampark Kranti be introduced on

daily basis from Nizamudding to Manikpur. Doubling and electrification of Jhansi-

Allahabad railway line be made. Doubling and electrification of Kanpur-Banda

rail line be made. ROB be constructed at all level crossings falling on Hawrah-

New Delhi rail track.

SHRI BABULAL CHOUDHARY: A broad gauge railway line from Agra

to Etawah was announced during the Prime Ministership of hon‟ble Shri Atal

Bihari Vajpayee (1999-2000). Railway Board sanctioned Rs. 214.00 crore for the

project, still the project could not be completed. The project is still pending after a

period of 15 years. I would like to request hon‟ble Minister of Railways that the

project should be completed without any delay so that common people can be

benefitted from the project. Bateshwar, despite being a historical place, the

department of Railway has not made it a railway station. A railway station should

be constructed at Bateshwar and should be named Bateshwar Atal station or Atal

Bateshwar station so that people can ever remember him. Fatehpur Sikri is a world

famous tourist place. Fatehpur Sikri station should be developed as a standard

station and an air-conditioned waiting hall should be constructed. All the superfast

trains should be given stoppage at Fatehpur Sikri station. A go down should be

constructed at Runakata which is approximately 25 Km. away from Agra.

Karnataka Rajdhani, Trivendrum Rajdhani, Bangalore Rajdhani and Sampark

Kranti Rajdhani superfast trains should be provided stoppage at Agra station

because Agra is a historical tourist place.

SHRI K. N. RAMACHANDRAN: The Railways Vision-2020 document

envisages the elimination of all the un-manned level crossing. As on April 2014

there are 1156 unmanned level crossings in its network. I appreciate the hon.

Railway Minister‟s intention to remove all the unmanned level crossing by

allocation more money for this purpose. Safety of the passengers is mandatory and

it must be given top priority. There has been several instances of theft, robbery etc.

in the moving trains, especially, in the nights. There is a need to post sufficient

RPF personnel on the trains during nights so that such instances do not recur.

Coming to infrastructure development, the „Diamond Quadrilateral High Speed

Rail Network will prove to be the backbone of our country‟s rail network.

Introduction of high speed bullet train is also a welcome initiative. I would like to

request the Minister of Railways that the bullet train should be brought to Chennai

in the next phase. We hope that the hon. Minister would soon take a decision to

handover the MRTS network in Chennai to the Chennai Metro Rail Corporation.

Sriperumbudur is a piligrimage centre. Sriperumbudur is the major hub for

industries wherein more than the lakh floating population stay. I would request the

hon. Railway Minister to sanction a new railway line project from Tambaram to

Sriperumbudur, connecting Bengaluru. I would request the hon. Minister to

introduce a new express train in the as Amma Express from Chennai to Delhi. I

would request the hon. Minister to pay attention and allocate adequate sums of

money to complete the on-going gauge conversion, electrification and other

projects immediately for the benefit of the people of Tamil Nadu.

SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: One passenger train is operational

from Ramtek to Nagpur should be extended to Butibori to avoid interchange to the

next train at Nagpur. Three years prior, UPA Government had announced to start

Nagpur-Delhi Duronto Exp but still this demand has not been fulfilled.

SHRI E. AHAMED: This is the first time after the Independence of the

country that such a raw deal has been given to the State of Kerala in the Railway

Budget. The State has been completely wiped out from the railway. Since

Independence, both passenger and freight traffic has increased by 15 times. The

railway tracks are under severe pressure resulting in frequent accidents. Building

financial resources against the backdrop of aging track, rolling stock and cracking

infrastructure calls for modernisation of railways. There is a pressing need to

increase productivity in Railways so as to reduce the cost of operations. Large

number of projects are pending resulting in cost escalation. We need to prioritise

railway projects and ensure their timely completion. There is nothing for Kerala in

the rail budget. Kerala has got only one passenger train – that too covering a

distance of about 40 kms.

SHRI KESHAV PRASAD MAURYA: I would like to draw the attention

of the hon‟ble Minister to the Allahabad district, where several works of railway

are lying pending due to wrong policies of UPA Government. Broadening work of

Allahabad-Lucknow railway track is also pending. In my Parliamentary

constituency Phulpur, work related to construction of over bridge in place of

dozens of railway level crossings under Prayag junction etc. has not been

completed. My other demands are as follows: Duranto Express running between

Allahabad to Mumbai and vice versa may kindly be run on daily basis. A special

chair car should be introduced between Allahabad to Lucknow, Jammu Tawi

Express should be run from Allahabad in place of Kanpur, Delhi-Kanpur Shatabdi

Express should be extended to Allahabad, Rail coach factory and Railway

University should be set up in Allahabad, Allahabad, Prayag and Rambagh

Junctions should be developed as world class stations, Metro Train should be

introduced in Allahabad. A new train should be introduced from Allahabad to

Bangalore and Allahabad to Ahmedabad. A new Duranto train should be

introduced between Allahabad and Vadodara, Tirth Yatri Express train should be

run upto Tirthraj Prayag (Allahabad ). There is a narrow gauge line between

Nagbhid to Nagpur, its conversion to broad gauge has been sanctioned out due to

paucity of funds said work is lying pending. It will provide alternative route to

several places including Gondia Chandrapur after conversion.

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: Hon. Railway Minister has

provided a balanced Budget for the Railways. Kalyan-Nagar Malshej Railway

project which is lying pending for the last several years, be commenced at the

earliest. This project will join all the four regions of Maharashtra states namely

Vidarbha, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra and Konkan providing an impetus to

industrial development of the region. The Kalyan railway station should be

upgraded as a terminus on the Central Railway which will provide connectivity for

South, North and East bound trains. The Kalyan Vashi local route which is used by

local people for daily commute to work, education or business should be

introduced. Panvel-Diva-CST local services should be started connecting semi-

urban areas to the main circuit with a better frequency of trains. New Konkan

bound trains from Kalyan should be started.

SHRI BADRUDDIN AJMAL: This rail budget will benefit poor people.

You have brought good projects. Some measures should be taken for safety and

security of girls, who travel lakhs of miles by train to help them complete their

education. Some concession to girls belonging to poor families should be given by

giving them special consideration. You have announced good schemes for North-

East. Its pending projects should be considered. Railway connection from Manipur

to Silchar should be started. Assam sector of BG line between Bongaigaon and

Jogighopa should be completed. Guwahati railway station should be converted as

per international standard. Rail connection between Fakiragram and Dhubri should

be reopened, a new train from Jogighopa to Megadar should be introduced, meter

gauge starting from Bongaigaon to rest of Assam and from Rangia to North

Lakhimpur should be converted into broad gauge. Broad gauge work in Silchar

should be completed and Silchar to Karimganjh, Badarpur should also be included

in it.

SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: This budget is a revolutionary budget for the

development of the country. In 2000-2001, per passenger loss was only 10 paise

per kilometre. But in 2012-2013, it has reached to 23 paise. If we want to complete

the ongoing projects or the projects which have been sanctioned 30 years back,

then we need Rs. 5 lakh crore. This means that in a period of 10 years, we are in a

position to complete these projects. Then it comes to Rs. 50,000 crore per year for

ongoing projects. For the last 30 years, 676 projects were sanctioned and at that

relevant time, those projects were worth Rs. 1,57,000 crore. Now, out of those

projects, only 317 projects could be completed. Still, for the last 30 years, 359

projects remain incomplete and in the process of completion. At least we need Rs.

1,82,000 crore. For the last 10 years, 99 new line projects worth Rs. 60,000 crore

were sanctioned. I fail to understand that only one project could be completed and

four projects are as old as of 30 years. So far as the social obligation is concerned,

for 2013-2014, the Railways have spent Rs. 20,000 crore for social obligation. The

present Budget is striking a balance between the social obligation and the

commercial viability. With a view to achieving the international standards and

development of the country, high priority has been given by our Railway Minister

for safety in the Railways, capacity augmentation in train operations, and

improving amenities and services for passengers. So far as the speed of trains is

concerned, a provision has been made for bullet trains. That will cost to the

exchequer about Rs. 60,000 crore. The track has already been identified long back,

that is Mumbai-Ahmedabad. A provision has been made for high speed trains,

having a speed of 160 to 200 kilometres, Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High

speed Rail, freight corridor, new lines, Doubling, 3rd & 4th line and Gauge

Conversion Projects, list of new trains and extension of existing trains. Jansadharan

Trains, Premium Trains, AC Express Trains and so many other trains have been

provided. For the first time 40 per cent increase has been made in the Budgetary

provisions for the purpose of passenger amenities, station management, catering,

cleanliness, safety and security, rail tourism, revamping of reservation system, skill

development, innovations incubation centre, coal connectivity, port connectivity

and connectivity to remote areas. About 29 railway projects for Andhra Pradesh

and Telangana have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.20,680 crore. In

case of solar energy – all rooftop spaces of railway stations and other railway

buildings are being utilised for the solar energy. Leveraging Railway PSU

resources; private investment in rail Infrastructure through domestic and foreign

direct investment; and the public-private partnership for future projects are the

three important railway sectors. All this resource mobilization is for the future

projects and gathering more reserves for coal connectivity. Sir, I am coming from

Pali District of Rajasthan. which is a very backward desert district. So far as the

connectivity through rail is concerned – I have submitted a detailed representation

to the hon. Railway Minister and he also promised me that he would look into the

matter. So far as Bilara and Bar-Jodhpur track is concerned, the Railway Board has

already accepted the survey way back in 2009. A sum of Rs.204 crore has already

been earmarked for completion of this project.

DR. K. GOPAL: I would like to congratulate Hon‟ble Minister of Railways

for early completion of already approved projects. It is unfortunate that in the last

10 years out of 99 new line projects sanctioned worth of Rs.60,000 crore only one

has been completed. The Diamond Quadrilateral high speed rail network would

prove beneficial to the country. The pace of conversion project between

Thiruvarur to Karaikudi is very slow because of inadequate funds. Thiruthurai

Poondi-Agasthiyampalli (Vedaranyam) line having 20 small bridges and culverts

should be expedited. Valnkanni-Vascodagma and Karaikal-Mumbai Lokmanya

Tilak weekly trains should be extended as daily services. Railway overbridge at

level crossing No.48 near Akkaraipettai between Nagapattinam to Nagore line

should be constructed and a new train service be introduced from Thiruvarur to

Chennai. Safety of all the passenger trains should be ensured.

SHRI P. KUMAR: I support the Railway Budget 2014-15. This Budget is

providing a vision for the future, with the Diamond Quadrilateral High Speed Rail

Network, High Speed Bullet Trains etc. The main focus of this Budget is to

complete the on-going projects. The vision to make the Indian Railways the

largest freight carrier in the world, is laudable. It is appreciable to attract FDI in

railway projects and also PPP models, to complete the projects. Safety of rail

passengers is important and the railways should install Anti Collision Devices

(ACD) in the entire railway network, introduce Train Protection Warning System

to eliminate accidents due to human error. Proper maintenance of bridges is

necessary. Two lane underpasses should be constructed in three sections of

railway line viz Chennai-Trichy, Trichy-Karur and Trichy-Dindigul. A coach

factory at Golden Rock, Trichy should be set up. New survey to find out the

feasibility of having a railway line between Thanjavur and Pudukkottai via

Gandarvakkottai should be carried out. Significant funds should be allotted for

Villupuram-Dindigul Doubling Project. New Train Services between

Tiruchirappalli-Bengaluru-Tiruchirappali; Pudukkottai-Tiruchirappalli-Chennai

(Day Express); Tiruchirappalli-Chennai Tiruchirappalli (Duranto-Type Express);

Tiruchirappalli-Madurai-Tirunelveli-Nagercoil-Kanyakumari Express,

Tiruchirappalli Tirupati (Day Express) should be introduced. Train

No.22627/22628 Intercity Express may be stopped at manaparai for a minute or so.

All the trains passing through Srirangam may be allowed to be stopped at

Srirangam, the famous pilgrimage centre. Train No.16107/16108 Mangalore

Express and other Express trains may be stopped at Jeeyapuram and Pettavathalari

stations. Trains 12605/12606 Pallavan Express may be stopped at Kerranpur

Railway Stations which were announced as Adharsh railway stations should be

upgraded and sufficient funds should be provided for this purpose. In Trichy city

near Maris Theatre an ROB (No.17) which is in a very dilapidated condition may

be dismantled and a new ROB may be constructed there and Pudukkottai town

between Rasavayal and Thiruvappur also.

SHRIMATI R. VANAROJA: I support the initiatives of Union

Government which will lead for growth of railways and economic development

through rail connectivity. Initiatives such as Bullet trains, Diamond quadrilateral

network project, safety of women passengers, e-ticketing are well appreciated.

Train service between Tiruvannamalai and Chennai should be restored and

extented upto Vellore and Villupuram. Puduchcherry-Howrah Express train

should be given stoppage at Tiruvannamalai and a new train service from

Tiruvannamalai to Jolarpet Junction via Chengram should be started. A railway

hospital should be set up in Jolarpettai. Chalukya Express (Train No. 110006)

between Puduchchery and Bengaluru should be made functional on daily basis.

Frequency of passenger train services between Villupuram and Katpadi during day

time should be increased. Parcel office services in Tiruvannamalai, Tirukkovilur

and Vellore railway stations should be restored. Reservation facilities should also

be made available in evening hours. Tiruvannamalai should be declared as a model

railway station by enhancing facilities. Special trains that will be operated to

Rameswaram and Velankanni during festive seasons should be extended for

Tiruvannamalai pilgrim centre also.

SHRI ARJUNLAL MEENA: Funds for gauge conversion work may be

provided to facilitate the passengers travelling to and fro from Ahmedabad,

Gujarat, Maharashtra and Mumbai. Construction work of new platform at Udaipur

city station may be carried out and carriage staff may be shifted to Umreda station,

8 kms away from city. Puja Express train running between Jammu Tavi to Ajmer

may be extended upto Udaipur city and Mewar Express running between Udaipur

& Nizamuddin may be extended upto Haridwar.

SHRI CHINTAMAN NAVASHA WANGA: This budget is for the

common people and an effort to create modern railways in India. It provides for

various facilities like RO drinking water units on experimental basis, E ticketing

system, booking of tickets through mobile and post offices etc. It also mentions for

providing platform shelter, toilets on all the railway stations. It also proposes to

give a boost to rail movement of fruits and vegetables by providing requisite

facilities of temperature controlled storages at 10 locations. Two such stations are

in my Thane district at Bhiwandi Road and Kalamboli.The first bullet train

between Mumbai-Ahmedabad has been proposed. Many new trains have also been

introduced but unfortunately my constituency has been neglected. Vasai-Madgaon

new train is on demand by passengers and Pravasi Sangathan. Dahanu Road to

Nasik city railway line is required to be constructed. Survey for this has already

been completed.

SHRI RAJEEV SATAV: This Railway Budget has disappointed

Maharashtra a lot. A number of things about Maharashtra was not taken care of.

14.5 per cent increase in passenger fares and 6.5 per cent increase in freight rates

have been made. Railways earns maximum revenue from Maharashtra. If 40 per

cent revenue is earned from Maharashtra, then 40 per cent allocation should have

been made for Maharashtra. Maharashtra is the commercial capital of the country.

Central Govt. should allocate funds for Vardha-Nanded project, Admednagar,

Beed Parli railway route projects. The rail wagon factory in Amaravati should be

set up. Financial assistance should be given for Ardh-Kumbh Mela which is going

to be held in Nasik next year. Rail network for Yavatmal and Buldhana be

provided. A survey should be conducted for Purna-Khandwa line, Kinval –Mahur,

Mahur-Pusat line. Several Jyotirlings in Maharashtra should be declared tourist

circuits. Financial assistance should be provided for Mahur, Vasi Vidyapeeth etc.

A long standing demand of office in Nanded should be met. A train for Chhatrapati

Shivaji Maharaj Darshani should be introduced. The Railway University to be set

up should be named after Gopinath Munde in Hingoli.

SHRI P.C. GADDIGOUDAR: Railway Minister has given importance to

safety measures, cleanliness and amenities and much stress has been given to

completion of pending and on-going projects instead of taking new projects to

consideration. At that same time Minister has given priority for providing high

speed and Bullet trains. As regards to my constituency the ongoing project of

Bagalkot –Kudichi (142kms) that the budgetary provision has been made is very

meager, the said project sanctioned in the 2010-11. My humble request is that there

is some problem regarding alignment of the line in some portion and the decision

should be taken at the earliest and adequate amount should be provided in

Supplementary Budget. My special constituency demands are Alamatti –Koppal

new line survey work has been completed. I request the Hon‟ble Minister to

sanction Alamatti-Koppal new railway line. Bagalkot and Badami Railway Station

have been declared as a Adarsh Station. Provide sufficient funds in Budget for

completion of the said works.

PROF. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA: Country awaits for the rail budget

eagerly, mostly budget focus one area and usually the area belonging to the

Minister of Railways. But, this time rail budget has been prepared while keeping

in view the entire country. This rail budget is the first step towards bringing the

Indian Railways at par of the international standards. Setting up of research centre

to adopt the international standard to avoid accidents spells out the vision of your

budget. Setting up of rail University office on wheels, 40 per cent increase in

budget for the sanitation of railway stations, by increasing the capacity of e-ticket

to 7200 ticket per minute which is only 2000 ticket per minute presently, by

making the Indian railway paper free in two years, rail connectivity to ports etc

will give new look to Indian Railways Pilgrimage circuits have been indentified

while keeping in view the Indian culture and religions tourism. Special package

trains are proposed on these circuits. Vjjain is an important pilgrimage spot of

central India visited by lakhs of people every year. Singhasth Mahakumbh is

scheduled to be organized in Ujjain in the year 2016. Singharth has not been kept

in mind in rail budget. Gauge-conversion has been done from Fatehabad to

Indore, But 18 Km stretch from Vjjain to Fatehabad has been left. A circle train

can be plied between Ujjain-Indore devas if gauge conversion of this 18 km

stretch is done. Therefore, gauage conversion from Ujjain to Fathebad should be

done and double decker train from Indore to Ratlam should be extended to Ratlam-

Bhopal as well construction of Indore Godhra rail line has not been started yet, this

world should also be initiated at the earliest.

SHRI CHANDULAL SAHU: This rail budget is a progressive budget.

Through this rail budget Indian railway will start a new journey. Steps taken for

the private partnership in railways are the need of the hour. Provision for

passenger safety and increase in facilities and sanitation are also commendable.

Stoppage may be given to various trains at Bagbehra railway station. Mahasamund

railway station and Bagbehra railway station should be developed as model railway

station.

DR. BANSHILAL MAHATO: This rail budget will give a new direction to

Indian railway. Safety, timely disposal of schemes, passenger amenities, financial

discipline, mobilization of resources, use of information technology and

transparency and better working system has been strongly stressed upon in rail

budget. Steps like bullet train to pilgrimage trains, in line of golden quadrilateral

road project , diamond quadrilateral etc., are commendable. High speed train,

bullet train, better catering, sanitation, wi-fi facility in railway, recruitment of

females in Railway Police Force keeping in view the safety of women are

welcome steps. Karba-Raipur Intercity express used to benefit four constituency

area Karba, Janjgir – Champa, Bilaspur and Raipur. So this train should be started

again. Chhattisgarh Express should be plied from Karba to Amritsar as express

train. Shirnath Express should run upto Korba. Jabalpur-Ambikapur Express runs

thrice in a week, it should run daily like express which runs from Korba to

Vishakhapattnam should operate twice in a day.

SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE: Though the work of Pune-Daund

Electrification is in progress and scheduled date of completion is in 2015, pace of

the actual work does not seem to be matching the schedule. This Project has great

importance in overall growth of Maharashtra. Unfortunately, one of clause 19,

sub-clauses 19.2 in respect of ceiling limits of units is going against the existing

small unit licensees who are within the ceiling limits since their allotments till date

as per the Railway Board‟s circulars issued from time to time. The

implementations of the above mentioned clause would result in destabilizing their

setup, indirectly evicting them from business which would definitely affect the

livelihood of large numbers of families, associated with these units for generations.

This Catering would be given allotments under this policy. Nashik is the 3rd

most

developing city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune. One of the NGO „ Rail

Parishad‟ has recommended a solution for a speedy travel between Nasik-Pune by

rail. Various demands related the Railway Station have been made. Hence, there

is a strong demand from the villages as well as from the workers that a rail station

be built-up at Sahajpur which would enable this large population to travel to either

Daund or Pune. Morgaon is one of the important pilgrim centre in Maharashtra and

lots of people visit this place from different part of the State, so having a rail

facility on this route would be beneficial. Connectivity of Panvel to Mumbai, Pune

and other major cities by direct long distance trains is rare. Thus, we need to

relook at routs to connect Konkan to major cities in Maharashtra. Pune and the

surroundings area is one of the fastest urbanizing area in our country. More and

more people are commuting daily from neighboring cities to Pune for their work.

There is urgent need for declaration of Pune-Lonawala-Daund-Jejuri as a

„Suburban zone.‟ Survey of Hadapser-Jejuri New Line is complete I urge the

Ministry to sanction the project and start the work as soon as possible. Pune,

Daund and Baramati railway stations need basic amenities. Daund station need a

new platform. We need ramps at this bridge and opening of the old bridge till this

work is done. Jejuri is a major pilgrimage in Maharashtra where billion of

common people have faith. The temple has 10 festivals in a year where nearly 5 to

7lakh people visit the place in a day. Jejuri station cannot bear the load of

commuters and it need major development work. I urge the Hon. Railway Minister

and Railway Board to consider Jejuri for special development project as

pilgrimage. Mumbai sub-urban passengers constitute approximately 40% of total

passengers in the entire country. Unlike other passengers , people from Mumbai

have to travel daily by railway for their work. Railway should consider increasing

local trains from Thane and Kalyan for Karjat-Kasara as well as from Andheri-

Boriwali to Virar, as we cannot add more trains between Thane and CST.

SHRI SUVENDU ADHIKARI: This budget is completely anti-people. It

is an aimless and baseless attempt by the Union Railway Minster. This budget has

not reflected the budgetary project allocations and other distributions for the

already sanctioned projects by the then Hon. Railway Minister and our supremo

Ms. Mamata Banerjee. I would like to highlight multiple numbers of examples

that would obviously show deprivation of West Bengal in this Rail Budget. The

cost of the Kolkata Metro Extension Project was Rs. 11,257 crore. The budgetary

allocation in 2014-15 is only Rs. 538 crore. The balance required to complete the

work is Rs. 10, 719 crore. The project cost Of Dakshineswar-Dum Dum-

Barrackpre Metro extension is Rs. 1997.10 crore. The allotted amount in this

budget is only Rs. 20 crore. It needs Rs. 1977.10 crore. My first demand is, please

rollback the price hike in ticket fare and freight for the greater interest of the

common people keeping in view that 50 per cent of the people in our country are

still living below the poverty line. The proposal to inject FDI in the railway sector

must be withdrawn for the economic and social interest of our country. We are not

begging for any new projects in West Bengal but our demand is very simple that

the projects already sanctioned by the Railway Ministry in the Union Railway

Budgets must be completed within the stipulated time period.

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: This Rail budget will prove to be a

progressive one. It focuses on better service, speed and safety. I express my

gratitude for provision of railway line from Chandil-Patmada to Jhargram via

Bandovan. I also thank for introducing new train from Tatanagar to

Vaiyyapanahalli and for sanctioning Joogsalai and Chakulia overbridges. The

railway facilities are lacking severely in Jharkhand besides north-eastern states.

Long pending demands of Jharkhand, particularly those of Jamshedpur should be

fulfilled. Train No. 2801/2902, Purushottam Express should be given stoppage

between Tatanagar and Khadagpur at Ghatshila. Direct train to Bhagalpur and

Jaipur should be introduced from Tatanagar. Pantry car should be attached to

Jalianwala Bagh Express. This train should operate five days a week. Rajdhani

Express originating from Ranchi should be run daily. A new train Tatanagr-

Chhapar-Darbhanga should be introduced. New railway line from Tatanagar to

Baripada via Haldikupur-Dumaria should be laid. The construction of sanctioned

new railway line from Badamara (Chakulia) to Baripada via Baharagoda should be

made operational soon. Providing these facilities would help in employment

generation and maintenance peace and order in the region.

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: Mumbai is economic capital of India. I

express my gratitude for withdrawing fare hike in MST in Mumbai. Andheri and

Borivilli stations in Mumbai should be included in model stations. Railway line

laying work from Bandra to Borivili should be completed soon. Oshivara railway

station work is pending since 2006. Heed should be paid in this regard. The

number of railway lines should be increased and platforms should be extended at

all stations in Mumbai. Regarding drinking water, no discrimination should be

made between Western Railway and South Railway. The trains coming from

Rajasthan, Ahmedabad, Gujarat and north India should be given stoppage at

Andheri station. Waiting rooms should be there. Security audit should be

performed for FOBs in Central and Western Railway and they should be

strengthened. Funds should be provided for the purpose. The nurses working in

Ambedkar hospital should be made permanent.

SHRI K. PARASURAMAN: On behalf on my constituency I demand

restoration of stoppage to Chenmozhi express at Budalur and ERS karaikal express

at Budalur and Nidamangalam. Restoration of stoppage to Tiruchendur Chennai

Express and Rameshwaram Chennai Express at papanasam. New train- Thanjavur-

Chennai Superfast Day Express and new train from Delhi to Thanjavur be started.

Newly introduced train – Mannargudi- Jodhpur Express- should start from

Tiruchchirappalli. Trichy- Howrah Express train may be extended to Velankannai,

Nellai- Trichy Superfast express may be extended to Thanjavur, Uzhavan Express

may be operated as superfast train between Thanjavur to salem via Namakkal.

SHRI RAM KUMAR SHARMA: 40 percent increase under sanitation

head is a commendable step. Darbhanga Express should be extended and it should

originate from Sitamarhi. The proposed tourist train from Rameshwaram should

reach upto Sitamarhi. Darbhanga-Bihar Sampark Kranti Express should originate

from Sitamarhi. Provision should be made to ensure that Pawan Express originates

from Sitamarhi. Saptkranti Express should also originate from Sitamarhi. Intercity

Express should operate from Darbhanga to Benaras via Sitamarhi, Muzzarpur,

Chhapara. Allocation should be made for implementation of Rail Coach Factory at

Dalmia Nagar. Ten identified farmers from every state should be honoured by

issuing Railway pass for them.

SHRI R.K. BHARATHI MOHAN: Railway budget has brought the

country the real situation of the Indian Railway. Tirupati Rameshwaram Express

should run on daily basis. There is a need for the retention of stopping this at

Kumbakonam. From Vilupuram to Tiruchirappalli all passenger and express trains

which were running on this line before conversion has to be reinstated on this line.

Rameshwaram-Varanasi Express may be operated on daily basis. Routing of

Puducherry-Mangalore Express via Kumbakonam main line. Necessary allocation

should be made for new railway line between Kumbakonam to Virudhachalam and

the doubling between Ponmalai-Thanjavur. Survey should be made between

Kumbakonam-Needamanglam, Thanjavur-Kumbakonam, Kumbakonam-

Viruthachalam. Adequate fund should be allocated for early completion of project.

Weekly trains Chennai Egmore-Guwahati should be extended upto Kumbakonam.

Train between Kolapur to Bangalore city should be extended upto Thanjavur via

Selam. Coimbatore-Mannargudi Express should run as Coimbatore-

Mannargudi/Chidambaram link Express. Extension of Kolhapur Shahu Maharaja

Terminal-Bangalore city daily express upto Kumbakonam. Chennai Egmore-

Guwahati Express and Chennai Egmore-Kibrugarh Express upto Kumbakonam.

Funds will be allotted for the Ponmalai-Thanjavur doubling projects. I would like

to request the Government to take initiatives to extend the purview of safety to all

passengers.

SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA: Surendranagar

to Rajkot Rail track must be double. Botad-Jasdan-Gondal line accepted to be

completed in 2012 should be taken urgently. A train on the track from Rajkot to

Port-Blair via Dhoragi, Paneli Track is ready since 20, years be run. All passenger

trains having 10 coaches be increased upto 15 coaches and train having 15 coaches

should be increased up to 20 coaches.

SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL: A daily train between Bangalore and

Mangalore introduced should run via Arasikere. One more train must be

introduced in the railway line between Bangalore and Mangalore. Necessary steps

should be taken to operate the train from Mangalore – Shravanabelagola.

Necessary instruction should be given to authorities to chalk out a suitable time

table for the new passenger train between Byndur and Kasargod which would

connect important pilgrimages Kollur, Udupi and educational hub Manipal. There

is a need to look into timetable for trains namely, Mangalore Central Demu

passenger rail, Mangalore-Madgaon intercity train. I wish to draw the kind

attention of hon‟ble Minister towards a few long pending demands of people of

coastal Karnataka. They are: To create separate railway division for Mangalore,

provide world class facilities at Mangalore Railway station, to convert the existing

tri-weekly train between Yeshwantpur and karwar Express into a daily train, to

introduce a new train between Mangalore and Vasco-da-Gama, to doubling the

railway line between Mangalore and Mumbai. Converting the existing passenger

train as DEMU train between Mangalore to Subramanya road. Extension of

Bhatkal-Thokur DEMU train upto Subramany Road of SWR. Extension of

Madgaon-Mangalore Intercity train upto Subramanya Road. The Mangalore-

Hyderabad train route should be via Mangalore Central-Hassan-Arasikere-

Chikkajajur-Gunthakal-Kachiguda. Specially designed coaches for differently-

abled persons should be provided in each Mail/Express trains. The construction of

additional two platforms at Mangalore Central. Doubling of railway line between

Mangalore and Thokur. Sufficient funds should be allocated for this project. To

provide passenger lifts and elevator at Mangalore Central railway station. Steps

should be taken to conduct survey on the new railway lines between “Karkala-

Belthangadi-Ujire-Dharmasthala-Nettana”, “Byndoor – Nettana”, “Mysore –

Madikeri – Mangalore. Provision for safe drinking water, platform shelters,

escalators facilities, adequate number of waiting halls and toilets at the railway

stations should be made.

DR. RATNA DE: We from Trinamool Congress demand review and roll

back of fare hike brought about before the Rail Budget. A fanciful announcement

in the Rail Budget is bullet trains. There is a need to lay new track for bullet tracks

as we can seen Japan. Taking all important decision like brining in FDI in

railways, defence and insurance sector shows the brute attitude of the Government.

There is need to take along every one. There seems to be no major mention of any

projects of trains for West Bengal. We want our legitimate rights. We have the

right to seek and demand as to what is genuinely needed for the benefit and welfare

of the people of West Bengal. Central Government has a solemn duty and

responsibility to listen to us and respond positively. I hope the ongoing Projects in

West Bengal are completed in time with adequate allocations of funds. There is a

need for more women RFP Constables considering the huge women passengers

using Railway network. There are 29 rail projects in Andhra Pradesh and

Telangana with Rs. 20,680 crore. But what about West Bengal? Likewise,

Varanasi and Gujarat and Karnataka have benefits immensely. There is a need to

revamp the railway reservation system to make it more user friendly and plug the

loopholes. Rail tourism should be given a fillip. There is a need to attend to

cleanliness in trains and in stations. This needs a lot of efforts.

DR. SATYA PAL SINGH: Shahadara and Saharanpur Railway line started

in 1907 and converted into broad gauge is still a single line working. People, three

to four times of the capacity travel in it in the coaches, sitting on the roofs and even

in toilets every day. We demand no bullet train, but express and fast trains. We

also demand waiting rooms and separate boogie and compartment for women.

Baghpat and Baraut should be developed and connected with metro. Modinagar

and Ghaziabad should also be connected with metro train system which will

enable to decongest Delhi. Introduction of refrigerated goods train would enable to

provide fresh and cheaper vegetable and fruits to Delhi. Our CCTV system lacks

continuity of signals, its quality is below average. The matter should be inquired

into and the quality should be upgraded. Police agencies should be involved while

installing CCTV in order to improve the picture quality of the faces of commuters

at railway stations. RPF activities leading to indiscipline. IPS officials should be

appointed at senior level to maintain co-ordination. The duty of GRP and RPF

should also be specified. Since the amendment made in RPF Act in 2004, GRP is

not being provided with resources by the State police. Since the matter concerns

law and order and the security of women, Railway Ministry should provide

resources to CRP also. Since the people of our area have been kept hopelessly

deprived in doubling and electrification of railway lines should be done and fast

trains should be introduced in our area.

SHRI DILIPKUMAR MANSHUKHLAL GANDHI: I support the

Railway Budget 2014-15 in which attention has been paid towards safety, security,

enhancing the speed of trains, modernization and bringing transparency in the

works of railways. The Railway Minister has paid adequate attention towards

Maharashtra. I request that in view of the coming Nashik Kumbh, a railway

booking counter should be set up at Shani-Shingnapur and a new AC train should

be introduced on Solapur-Nagar-Manmad Nashik rail route on experimental basis.

Ahmednagar is an important Railway Station from viewpoint of Military. Hence,

arrangements for booking counter, parking and retiring room should be made

there. A platform shed should also be provided here. All the trains passing

through Daund-Manmad route should be given stoppage at Ahmednagar railway

station. One two-tier and two three-tier AC coaches should be provided in

Maharashtra Express plying between Katenhapur and Gondia. There are only

seven coaches in Shirdi-Mumbai fast passenger train from Daund and in view of a

large number of pilgrims, the number of coaches should be enhanced to 22. A

Nagar-Pune shuttle service should be introduced. There is urgent need of four

ROBs in Srigonda Tehsil, 2 ROBs in Nagar tehsil and 3 ROBs are required in

Rahuri Tehsil on Daund-Manmad line but budgetary allocation has been made only

for two ROBs. Funds should be provided for the remaining ROBs immediately.

SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN: I support the Railway Budget,

2014-15. The work on the proposed rail route of Manmad to Indore via Malegaon,

Dhule and Nasik Road – Pune rail route falling under the Central Railway in

Maharashtra should be undertaken and sanction for the survey of new rail routes of

Nasik road- Surat, Nasik road- Dahanu should be accorded. Introduction of

Horticulture train for agriculturists will beneficial for the farmers of Dindori

region. Three lakhs Sadhus and nearly one crore people are expected to visit Nasik

to attend Simhastha Kumbh Mela. Therefore, Nasik Road Station and Manmad

Station should be modernised completely and Odha railway station at Nasik should

be upgraded as a new Terminal keeping in view of large number of pilgrims. There

is a need to include Nasik in the list of Tourist places. One Branch of the proposed

Railway University should be set up in Manmad to impart training in technical and

non-technical subjects besides setting up an innovations Incubation Centres to

make railway management more efficient. A railway crossing flyover bridge

should be constructed in Nandgaon, Wadgaon Post, Kottamgaon and Bhagur in

Nasik district. Arrangements for Railway crossing gate, signal and security guard

should be made at Nagarsol(Tehsil Yeola, district Nasik) to avoid accidents. Train

No. 22109/22110 –LTT Mumbai- Hazrat Nizamuddin Express and train no.

12171/12172 –LTT Mumbai –Haridwar Express should be run daily. Further, train

no. 22109/22110 – LTT Mumbai –Hazrat Nizamuddin Express should be upgraded

to Rajdhani Express. A pantry car should be provided in Train No. 12172- LTT

Mumbai- Haridwar Express and a new train should be introduced particularly for

the people traveling from Nandgaon to Nasik and Nasik to Mumbai and it should

be run daily in the morning and evening respectively. Local trains should be

introduced from Manmad-Nasik-Kasara and Kasara-Nasik-Manmad.

SHRI V. ELUMALAI: This Budget is a forward-looking budget which will

lead to economic revival. Several proposals including the setting up of an

Expenditure Management Commission, more importance to women and children

have to be welcomed. Our leader‟s suggestion for modifying the MGNREG

Scheme to make works more productive has been accepted and I thank the Hon‟ble

Finance Minister for the same. I request the Minister to set up a Silk Park in the

Arani town in my constituency which is long pending. The budgetary plan for

river links be expeditiously executed as it will resolve many of the inter-state water

disputes and help all the agriculturists in the country to produce throughout the

year. The first Bullet Train from Ahmedabad to Mumbai at the cost of Rs. 60,000

crores is a welcome measure. Allotment of mere Rs. 10 crores each for the

ongoing Tindivanam-Nagari 179.2kms and Tindivanam-Girage-Thiruvannamalai

70kms. is very meager. I, therefore, request the Hon‟ble Minister to allot Rs. 500

crores of Rupees to finish in this year itself. Gingee Town is a symbol for

secularism where Hindus, Muslims, Jains and other communities are living

peacefully. I request the Government to declare this place as a tourism centre.

SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN: In my constituency there is a passenger

train running from Nadiad to Kapadwanj to Modasa. It should be extended up to

Delhi via Tito‟s. The work has been completed but only 27 km. is remaining. If it

is completed, there would be a parallel rail line from Nadiad to Delhi. The heavy

traffic of passengers as well as goods should be transferred on this track.

SHRI DHARAM VIRA GANDHI: There is a mention about the safety of

common man and women, provision of toilets, management of unmanned crossing

and Wi-fi facilities in this Budget. There is also a mention about PPP and FDI in

railways but I doubt wherever the railways is going to be privatized partially or

fully in the days to come. As far as bullet train is concerned, it appears to be a joke

with 90-95 percent people. Our priority should be to provide world class facilities

to the 95 percent people of country before talking about the bullet train. There is

no mention about the role of corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement behind

14 percent hike in freight. Malwa region of Punjab comprises of 10 districts. Only

a few trains have been provided to this area. Thirty kilometers area is still not

covered in Malwa-region due to which there is no rail line between Rajpura and

Chandigarh. Laying a rail line in this area will help in connecting the 10 districts

of Malwa with the capital. There is a need to undertake survey in this route and lay

this 30 kilometers line at the earliest. Besides there is no provision for a train for

Patiala, Nabha, Dhrui and Samana. There was an assurance from the Minister of

Railways that there will be a train for Bhatinda via Patiala. I hope the hon‟ble

Minister will fulfill this promise.

SHRI THOTA NARASIMHAM: I wish to bring to the attention of the

House certain pending projects in Andhra Pradesh and to expedite these projects

The Nandyala-Yerraguntla railway line which connects Kadapa on Chennai-

Mumbai line with Guntur-Guntakal line passing through important places like

Proddutur, Jammalamaduru, Banganapalli, which are having potential for

establishment of cement plants should be completed at the earliest. Nadikudi-

Srikalahasthi project which was sanctioned in the year 2011-12, should also be

completed early with the original alignment. In my constituency, Kakinada, there

is a long pending demand for construction of the Kakinada-Pithapuram broad

gauge line. Kakinada being a port city is the commercial hub of business activities

and industries like fertiliser, natural gas, petroleum, information technology, etc.

As all the conditions placed by the Railway Board like free land and proportionate

cost sharing by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, which have been fulfilled. I

request the personal intervention of the hon. Minister for early commencement of

the construction of this railway line. I also request the hon. Minister for

regularisation of Kakinada-Bhavnagar Train Nos. 17204 and 17203 with pantry car

facility, introduction of new regular train services from Kakinada to Jodhpur via

Bikaner, and stoppage of Visakhapatnam-Mumbai Train Nos.18519 and 18520 at

Samalkota Junction. In the State Reorganisation Bill, the Government of India had

given a commitment to examine the establishment of a new zone for the residuary

Andhra Pradesh. It is learnt that a committee has been formed but it has not

conducted even one sitting so far and not consulted State Government officers and

not visited any of the divisions to give their recommendations.

SHRI K. ASHOK KUMAR: The Hon. Minister has introduced 5 new

trains for Tamil Nadu State. Melmaruvathur and Veilankanni special pilgrimage

trains during festivals seasons will really helpful the people to visit these religious

places during festivals. He has announced to set up a `Cold Storage Godown‟ near

Chennai to preserve Vegetables and fruits which really a boost and encouragement

to the vegetables and fruits growers. My Krishnagiri parliamentary constituency

has been totally ignored by the Railway Ministers. My constituency is a backward

area. The demand of laying of new rail route from Jolarpettai to Hosur via

Krishnagiri is pending for the last 17 years even though they have taken various

surveys and reports on the above project. This project has been totally neglected

by the Railway Minister in his budget. If the project is implemented, myself and

my constituency people will be very happy. Further no new trains have been

introduced to Krishnagiri or Hosur or Jolarpettai which really disappointed my

constituency people. Hence, I request the Hon‟ble Railway Minister to introduce

some more trains to Jolarpettai-Hosur via Krishangiri this year itself. The Hon‟ble

Minister must give immediate top priority to improve the food served in the trains.

The food served in the Railway coaches, even in Rajdhani Express are not

hygienic. Immediate action to be taken to improve the quality and reduce the rates

of the food items. I appeal the Hon‟ble Minister, do not increase railway fare in

future to increase the financial position of Railways as it directly affects the

common people.

SHRI K. C. VENUGOPAL: I oppose the Rail Budget 2014-15. A

majority of the projects which have been announced by this Budget are an

extension of previous Budgets. Apart from Bullet Train, there is no other new

scheme in this Budget. As far as our State, Kerala is concerned, he has already

reduced the amount for doubling projects. I, therefore, urge you to allot more funds

for this purpose, for the State of Kerala and also for the rest of the country. There is

no new proposal for RoB. We have already given proposals for RoB to the

Government of India. None of them has been accepted. This is very unfortunate.

He has announced 58 new trains, but he has announced only one train for us,

Kasaragod- Baindore. He has announced survey for 18 new lines, but there is only

one to Kerala. He has announced 10 doubling projects but there is nothing for

Kerala. He has already ignored Palakkad Coach Factory and Alleppey Wagon

Factory. We ask for suburban train from Thiruvananthapuram-Haripadu and

Thiruvananthapuram- Chengannur. Already survey has been completed; he has got

the report also. At least he should consider the suburban railway project for Kerala.

We need that suburban railway corridor. For the last so many years we have been

asking for a new zone for Kerala as that will help in the development of rail

network of Kerala in near future. There is a huge rush from Thiruvanthapuram to

Bengaluru. We are asking for a specific train from Thiruvanthapuram to Bengaluru

to help these passengers. Rajdhani Express is plying thrice a week. Why can we

not have it daily because it is also going to Udupi, Mangalore and Konkan?

Nowadays, Southern Railway, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad Divisions are

lacking the passenger amenities fund. We wanted justice to all the States. We want

the Railway Minister to avoid discrimination of States.

SHRIMATI ANJU BALA: This is a multidimensional and progressive

railway budget. I would request the hon. Railway Minister to construct over

bridges at Balamau and Sandila railway stations, introduce a Shatabdi express

between Sitapur and New Delhi and a DEMU between Sitapur and Lucknow.

Stoppage of trains should be provided at Sandila, Mallawan and Balamau stations.

A new railway line from Misrikh to Bilhaur should also be constructed.

SHRIMATI REKHA VERMA: This is a multi-dimensional and

progressive railway budget. I would request the hon. Railway Minister to install

barriers at Dhorhara railway crossing, introduce a Shatabdi express between

Sitapur and New Delhi and a DEMU each between Sitapur and Lucknow as well

as Shahjahanpur and Sitapur. A point for unloading of fertilizers be created at

Maigalganj and stoppage of trains should be provided at J.B. Ganj, Uchaulia and

Jahanikheda stations. A new railway line from Lakhimpur to Bichhiya via

Dhorhara should also be constructed.

SHRI NARANBHAI BHIKHABHAI KACHHADIA: The rail budget

presented by hon. Minister of Railway is growth oriented and puts emphasis on

augmentation of various amenities for passengers. I extend my sincere thanks to

hon. Minister of Railways for starting the gauge conversion work on the Dhasa-

Jaitalsar route. I request that the Mahua-Surat Express 12946 should be made

daily and should also be extended upto Mumbai. The gauge conversion work on

Khijadia-Amreli -Visavdar-Junagarh, a stretch of 133.61 km and the survey work

for laying new rail track on a 14.9 km stretch is also progressing at a slow pace. It

should be expedited. The proposal of setting up of a Railway university is a

welcome step. The religious pilgrims will be greatly benefited by augmenting the

railway facilities and amenities at the religious places. The proposal to start a

bullet train on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is also a noteworthy feature of this Rail

budget.

SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK: It is mentioned in the Railway

budget that 23 million people use railways but there are people in our area who

have not used railways. Though provision for bullet train has been made in this

budget, yet the question is who will use this bullet train. In this railway budget no

attention has been given to Jharkhand, whereas Dhanbad division of Jharkhand

stands second in revenue collection. Railway connectivity is an important

parameter by which the progress of an area can be reflected. However, in this

budget, only two trains- one passenger and one weekly express train have been

given. I request the Government to run the Rajdhani train on daily basis which

presently runs from Ranchi. Rajmahal Lok Sabha Constituency is bordered with

Bengal and Bihar. There, Tarapith is also a very important religious place. If the

Government starts a Rajdhani train from Rampurhat to Pakur via Sahibganj, it will

be a very important gift for the people of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar.

SHRI HARINARAYAN RAJBHAR: Varanasi and Gorakhpur Division of

Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh is underdeveloped with regard to rail transport. For

want of adequate number of trains, owing to single rail line and non-electrification

of the route the train journey poses umpteen in conveniences and takes a lot of

time. I demand that construction of Mau Junction terminal should be started.

Indira Junction to Dohrighat meter gauge should be converted to broad gauge.

Rail Line track be constructed between Dohrighat to Sahjanwa. It will connect

major Budhist places like Sarnath, Khushi Nagar and Kapilavatu and international

tourism will be promoted. Bahalni-Varanasi-Chhapra-Bihar-Allahabad section rail

line should be doubled and electrified. In order to protect seeds and fertilizers for

farmers and foodgrains for poor people a tin shade should be constructed at the

Rake point of Manu Junction. Azamgarh-New Delhi 12225/12226 Kaifiyat

Express should be extended to Mau Junction. At present New Delhi Dibrugarh

Rajdhani via Varanasi, Bali, Chhapra runs two days a week. Its frequency should

be increased to 3 days a week and it should run via Varanasi, Mau, Bhatni,

Chhapra. An IDMU train should be introduced from Indara to Dohrighat on meter

gauge. Facilities of dormitories and toilets should be restored at platform No. 2 of

Mau Junction. A shed be constructed on platform No. 4 and drinking water

facilities should also be provided there. Proper sanitation facilities be provided in

junction of express railway stations. The condition of halts should be improved.

SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL: The construction of rail wheel

factory in Chhapra has been completed. The wheel manufacturing work has also

started there which should be speeded up. A Rail engine factory has also been

announced in Chhapra which has remained an announcement till date. I would like

to draw the attention of the hon‟ble Minister for making said rail engine factory a

reality. The junctions on Dawoopur-Ekma route in Chhapra should be renovated.

I urge upon the Minister of Railways to construct an over bridge between

Jagdamba college and Rajendra Sarovar. Another over bridge should be

constructed at NH-101 (Crossing No.51) railway section. A stoppage should be

given near village Mane and Lakshmipur falling between Dawoodpur-Ekma. The

work on railway line between Maharajganj to Masrakh had started but it has been

stopped now, it should be expedited so that people of that area could be benefited

from it. A railway project between Pahleja-Digdha had been inaugurated by

former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee which was later stopped. I would

like to request Minister of Railways for early completion of said rail project. The

conversion of railway line into broad gauge between Chhapra and Thawe has been

started, it should be completed at the earliest. A new railway line project

connecting Chhapra to Nepal via Jalalpur-Baniapur-Bhagwanpur-Basantpur-

Madarpur and Mahmoodpur should be started. I would request that the name of

Revelganj railway station should be named after Lokmanya Jai Prakash Narayan

and of Chhapra junction in the name of Shri Rajendra Prasad. The work for

running of an electric train between Gorakhpur and Sonpur is almost complete

therefore, this train should be made operational. The number of platforms should

be increased and expanded at Chhapra railway station Guwahati Rajdhani express

train should be run daily via Chhapra-Balia and a daily special train, Kanwaria

express should be run between Chhapra and Sivan. On behalf of all member of

Parliament I would like to state that when rail reservation slips are sent to GM or

other related officers, it should be given priority and reservation should be ensured.

A reservation counter should be set up at Chhapra station.

SHRI S. R. VIJAYA KUMAR: A large number of migrated population of

Tamil Nadu is living in Delhi. I request to provide Rajdhani train from New Delhi

to Kanyakumari to facilitate them. The growing demand of the people of Tamil

Nadu to visit Ajmer necessitates the Railways to run a train from Trichy to Jodhpur

via Chennai. The summer and winter special trains which were withdrawn should

be restored. For the convenience of the passengers from sub-urban railway station

to Chennai Central Railway Station, a foot over bridge or an escalator may be

provided. In order to avoid long queues at railway stations, an Additional

Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM) should be provided at sub-urban

and Chennai Central Railway Stations. I would like to draw the attention of the

hon. Railway Minister to the plight of around 10,000 people living in

Thondaiyarpet village land Survey Nos. 1277/4, 1277/7 and 1277/30. These

people are living in this area for the past 30 years without any basic facility. We

wish to provide basic facilities to them. It is possible only if the above said land is

transferred to the Government of Tamil Nadu, by the hon. Railway Minister.

SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM: Railways spends 94 paise out of each

rupee it earns. Only 6 paise is saved as this meagre amount is also dwindling day

by day. The tariff policy of the Government lacks rational approach. On the one

hand the passenger fares are less than the cost, on the other hand tariff has been

hiked from time to time and it was raised to compensate the loss in passengers fare

sector. Consequently goods transport declined constantly. During last three years,

neither any new train has been introduced nor the frequency of any train there has

been increased in Jharkhand. Moreover, not a single railway line has been laid nor

any overbridge has been constructed there. The minerals especially coal, are

transported to other states from Jharkhand. It provides fuel for their thermal power

project. I request the govt. to run the Garib Rath train daily. Every Friday

Rajdhani Express should run from Delhi and it should run every Sunday from

Ranchi via Daltenganj. The Daltenganj-Barwadih-Chirmiri Rail line should be

sanctioned. The frequency of BDR (Barwadih-Delhi-on Son) should be increased.

I have full confidence that the Hon‟ble Minister will pay attention to it and fulfil

the aspiration of the people of Palamu Parliamentary Constituency.

SHRI RAM TAHAL CHAUDHARY: I belong to Jharkhand. Ranchi

Rajdhani is running presently three days in a week. It should run daily. The

construction works on Ranchi-Tori line via Lohardaga and Ranchi- Kodarma

railway line via Hazaribag should be expedited which would save much time in

journey. Ranchi- Jaswantpur Express should run four days in a week. Trains

between Ranchi and Haridwar via Lucknow and Tata to Ranchi via Chandil should

be introduced in public interest. Catering facilities should be provided in 22845-46

Hatia-Purva Express, Lokmanya Tilak Terminal Express and Hyderabad-

Darbhanga Express. Khelari is a coalfield area in Ranchi district. Stoppage of

Swarn Jayanti Hatia New Delhi train, Garib Rath and Howrah- Bhopal train

should be allowed for two minutes at Khelari. A foot-over bridge should be

constructed at Naawkone station.

SHRI SHIVKUMAR UDASI: I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Hon‟ble

Railway Minister for announcing survey of Gadag-Harapanalli new rail line. This

new rail route would mark a golden beginning in my state. There is a need to pay

attention to some pending projects in the supplementary Railway Budget. Haveri-

Gadag new rail line and survey of Shimoga-Shikaripura-Hanagal-Tadas-Hubli are

included in these projects. Besides, there is a need to provide one minute stoppage

of Hubli-Bangalore Intercity Express and Rani Chennamma Express trains at

Byadagi and Yelvagi Stations. A new daily passenger train between Hubli and

Bangalore via Haveri should be introduced. There is a need to introduce an

additional passenger train on Gadag- Bijapur Section. There is also need to

improve passenger amenities at railway stations in my Parliamentary Constituency.

There is a need for expansion of good shed at Byadagi station to facilitate traders

to directly supply chilly to major cities. I request the Hon‟ble Minister to enhance

reservation quota from Gadag Haveri Ranebennur and Byadagi for trains running

via these stations. I also request him to provide an alternative entry to the Gadag

Betageri railway station to help commuters reaching the station by connecting

through a Foot Overbridge to JT College Road. There should be a Government

Railway Police (GRP) outpost at Haveri Railway Station. Ladies bogies should be

increased in all passenger trains from Hubli to Bangalore. There should be a

provision of Sampark Kranti train stop at Haveri station.

SHRI JOSE K MANI: My State of Kerala is almost totally neglected in the

recently announced Railway Budget. The most important priority of Kerala is

doubling, electrification of lines. The town of Kattayam connects North and

South. This is the only route to Kottayam railway station and down south from

Kollam to Thiruvanatpuram. Unless and until it is completed, we will not have a

smooth running of trains from North to South. So my request is that sufficient

funds must be allocated atleast for land acquisition for the first phase. A coaching

Terminal in Kottayam should be provided and development activities should take

place on a war footing and completed within a time frame. My suggestion is that

trains with A/c chair cars with Double Decker Coaches should be introduced.

Please do give priority to RoB‟s of Kerala. We hope allocation of money for

doubling, and announcement of some new trains, especially overnight trains with

A/c chair cars to Bengaluru, Mysore and Chennai would be made.

KUNWAR BHARATENDRA SINGH: Railway not only work in the form

of Welfare organization but its contribution to country‟s security is also important.

To serve that purpose, revenue-generation is also essential. Since last ten years

railway had been in bad economic state. For ongoing projects rupees five lac crore

i.e. every year fifty thousand crores for ten years are expected. Out of 676

approved plans of last thirty years only 359 plans have been completed. In the last

ten years announcement of laying of 99 railway lines with an outlay of sixty

thousand crores have been made but only one line has been laid. In this budget

after standardization of the designs, they will be made available online so that the

power of completing the sanctioned projects be decentralized. Every year fruits

and vegetables worth forty four thousand crores get rotten. Agri-freight train and

special milk tanker has been introduced to keep the milk, fruits and vegetables

fresh for long period. It has been outsourced to private parties. It will help farmers

in getting proper prices of their products. Focussing highly on safety four thousand

females and seventeen thousand males have been recruited in force. CCTVs,

automatic door closures would be installed at railways stations, ultrasonic systems

would also be installed to get the prior information of fractured tracks. Fresh R.O

water would also be made available to the poor people. Special emphasis would

also be given on the cleanliness of toilets in the railways. Catering services have

been given to branded companies so that passengers get access to quality and

hygienic food. Provision for high speed train has also been there in the budget.

Keeping tourism in view many pilgrimage circuits have been connected. Uttar

Pradesh has sent seventy Members belonging to Bhartiya Janta Party to Lok Sabha

but Western Uttar Pradesh has totally been ignored in this rail budget. Distance

between Delhi and Saharanpur is only 170 Kms but because of single line it takes

five hours to reach there by train. It should be converted into broad gauge lines.

Construction of lines connecting Saharanpur to Mirzapur, Vikaspur, Dehradun is

very necessary. There should be a passenger trains between Saharanpur and

Bareilley. The departure and arrival time of Kotdwar-Delhi Express should be

fixed at 6:00 O‟ clock in the morning from Nazibabad and 7:00 O‟ clock in the

evening from Delhi. It will benefit the traders of Western Uttar Pradesh a lot.

Construction of Bijnour-Hastinapur-Meerut line is very necessary. It will connect

the places of pilgrimage of the Mahabharata times and benefit the people as a

whole.

*SHRI P.R. SENTHILNATHAN: Srirangam is the heart of Tamil Nadu

surrounded by a plenty of Shiva and Vishnu temples. Indian Railways should take

a lead from this initiative and build pilgrim hostels in all the important pilgrim

centres throughout the country. Karaikkudi – Pattukkottai – Tiruvarur broad gauge

project has been kept pending for the last 3 years. I urge that the work pertaining

to this 148 kilometer long rail project should be expedited. „Silambu Express‟ is

operated twice a week between Manamadurai and Chennai via Tiruchi and

Karaikudi. This train should be operated on daily basis. There should be train

service between Tiruvannamalai and Tirupati. Rameswaram should be provided

rail connectivity with many places of north India. A new Express train should run

between Rameswaram and Mysore via Tiruchy, Erode and Bengaluru. Karaikkudi

is a hub for educational and industrial activities. I request for new rail routes

between Karaikkudi and Madurai via Tiruppaththur and Melur. There should be a

double railway line between Chennai and Rameswaram. New train service should

be introduced between New Delhi and Rameswaram.

SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: Railway symbolizes socialism and harmony. It

attracts all. It is a symbol for 124 crore people of the country. Projects amounting

to Rs. 7,000 crore are pending in Bihar. Vaishali is the mother of democracy for

the world civilization. You forgot that. Nalanda is the sacred land of Buddha and

Mahavira. You forgot Sasaram, the land of Shershah, Bodhgaya, the land of

* Original in Tamil

Gautam Buddha and the land of Babu Veer Kunwar Singh. Three-fourth land of

Bihar is affected from flood and storms. The areas of Darbhanga, Sitamarhi,

Motihari, Jainagar, Nirmali, Saharsa, Purnia, Madhepura, Katihar, and Bhagalpur

are completely affected with floods. Only rupees 25 crore was allocated for

Saharsa-Purnia-Murliganj rail line. Rupees 10 lacs were allocated for Kursela-

Behariganj line. Supaul-Araria line was also allocated only Rs. 10 lacs. Hon. Atal

Vajpayee had put the foundation stone of Nirmali rail bridge.

SHRI RAMSINH RATHWA: The DEMU train plying between

Pratapnagar and Chhota Udaipur should be run four times in a day. Three trains

out of four running between Pratapnagar to Chhota Udaipur do not have toilet

facilities. I request that toilet facilities may kindly be provided in each train. The

parcel facilities and more wagons should be made available on Baroda-Chhota

Udaipur railway track as more and more industries are coming up in this section.

The early completion of new railway line being laid from Pratapnagar, Chhota

Udaipur, Alirajpur to Dhar is the need of the day. The budget for lying this

railway line is Rs.175 crores rupees but the meagre allocation of Rs 35 crores has

been made in this Budget. New direct trains from Chhota Udaipur to Bombay and

Chhota Udaipur to Ahmedabad should be introduced. Samani is 24 kilometer

away from Jambusar and connected by narrow gauge. The Jambusar-Samani and

Dabhoi-Samalaya narrow gauge should be converted into broad gauge. Dabhoi-

Chanod railway line should be restarted and accorded the status of heritage rail

line. I also request that a new rail line from Rajpipala to Kavidiya may be laid and

Kavidiya-Tankhala-Chhuchhapura narrow gauge rail line should be converted into

broad gauge. Halol-Shivrajpur- Champaner and Panimines railway line lying

closed should be restarted and also to be converted from narrow gauge to broad

gauge.

SHRI JASVANTSINH SUMANBHAI BHABHOR : The initiatives taken

to make optimum use of resources available with railways and to attract foreign

and private sectors for raising funds will surely help to give impetus to economy

and the expansion of railways. I hope that the Indian railways will be the best

railways of the world in the coming 10 years. My Parliamentary Constituency

Dahod has an engine factory at Parel. The factory is facing the acute shortage of

staff which adversely affecting the production capacity. The factory may be

upgraded as 750 acre land out of 1600 acre land available with this factory is lying

idle. The area is surrounded by various scheduled tribes people having no

employment. These people may be given suitable employment in this factory after

imparting proper training to them. I thank the government for enhancing the

budgetary support for Dahod-Indore railway line from Rs 70 crores to Rs 250

crores. Every day approximately 3000 railway passengers travel from Leemkheda

station. This station lacks basic passenger amenities like drinking water and sitting

arrangements and is also very filthy. I request to extend the length of platform,

open new computerised reservation window and construction of an underpass from

Hanuman Mandir side to connect Leemkhada railway colony and also to set up a

refreshment stall at stations.

SHRI GANESH SINGH: We need five lakh crore of rupees to complete

ongoing rail projects and we require fifty thousand crore of rupees every year.

There should be provision of audit regarding sanitation works at railway stations,

passengers amenities, catering facilities and arrangement of branded food in

running trains under PPP model. Sir, today railway have huge commercial land

and I think that commercial land should also be utilized and railway should

increase their income by giving land to local capital investors under PPP model.

My constituency comes under western-central railway of Madhya Pradesh. My

submission is that the stations of our parliamentary constituency should be

provided required facilities as per their category. Previous governments had

declared Maihar and Satna stations as model station but facilities are yet to be

provided. From my constituency one train goes to Rajkot and it should be run

daily. Similarly there are no terminal and maintenance facilities at my Satna

railway station. Some arrangements should be made for terminal and maintenance

there. Portyard facilities should be given there. Similarly I want that Lalitpur-

Singrauli rail line should be completed. Rail line should be constructed from Satna

to Panna and Seedhi to Rewa and Seedhi to Singrauli. I submit that commercial

stoppage of few trains running between Allahabad to Mumbai should be provided

at Satna. Train running between Rewa to Anand Vihar should be extended to

Delhi.

SHRI OM BIRLA: I would like to submit to the Minister of Railways that

some of the demands of Rajasthan and my Constituency Kota are very important.

Rajasthan is the biggest area of our country and Thar desert is here. So Rail

services have a major role to play in these areas. The previous government had

announced that Kota would be made a world class station. Many major works

relating to this scheme are still to be completed. Major works have not been

completed. Passengers face inconvenience due to such conditions. In Kota

division Dakania Railway station is situated in the middle of the city. The

development and expansion of this area is very important. The connection of new

loop line and new building is pending. In the same way the length of Kota railway

Station is proposed to be made to fulfil the strength of 24 coaches. In the same

way an overbridge should be built over the Gamach and Laban crossing. On Kota

Junction Railway Station Memu Carshed should be constructed. Kota to

Chanderia, Chittor to Sawai Madhopur and to Jaipur Railway track line should be

electrified. I suggest that these demands should be included in this Budget, so that

in Rajasthan and specially in Kota railway services are extended and long

demanded services are provided.

SHRI RAMCHARAN BOHRA: I express my thanks to Hon‟ble Minister

of Railways that two out of the four new train services have been allotted to the

Pink City Jaipur. This would help in providing good facilities to tourists and

people visiting Rajasthan. I welcome the priority being given to Jaipur city. I

demand that a new high speed train should be introduced on Golden Triangle

Delhi-Jaipur Agra, so that travel time is made minimum. Railway track from

Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur should be electrified. Gantoor Railway Station is sub

urban railway station in Jaipur city. Many trains should be given stoppage at

Gantoor Jagatpura Railway station Jaipur.

SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN: This Budget focused on FDI. Railway

Minister has made his mind open that he is writing to the Cabinet to get the

permission of the Govt. to introduce FDI in Railway. The major issue of the State

is the separate zone. We have been demanding this for a long time. Another

important issue is the Palakkad Coach Factory which was included in the Budget in

the year 2008-2009. There is only nominal amount of Rs 25 lakhs in the budget.

Since traffic is very high in Trivandrum-Mangalore route, there should be an

Express train in Trivandrum and Mangalore. The earlier Government has agreed

to introduce Memu service in the State. It is not materlised. So, new Memu

services should be introduced on both sides. There was a proposal to Tourist train

from Kanyakumari to Goa. This should also be included. Considering the huge

passenger traffic a new passenger train should be included from Cochin to

Alleppey. Large number of ROBs are under construction and the work of many of

them are not yet started. Government should take steps to complete these RoBs

within a time limit. The Government has to allot more funds for improving

infrastructural facilities in Railway stations such as drinking water, upgradation of

platform, shelters, building of ticket counter etc.

SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR: I belong to Bihar which is a most backward

State. The Government should raise the fare of higher classes instead of raising the

fare of general and sleeper classes. I demand that such arrangement should be

made in a way that increased fare should be collected from the date on which the

announcement regarding increase is made instead of collecting the excess fare

from the passenger who has booked his ticket two months earlier. The scheme

regarding installation of anti-collusion devices in trains should be implemented.

There is no mention regarding completion of previous projects and its funding

pattern in Rail Budget of 2014-15. Railway infrastructure should be strengthened.

Attention should be given on passengers amenities, railway facilities, sanitation

and its operation. Gauge conversion works from Saharasa to Purnia junction via

Banmanakhi started in 2008-09 should be completed in current financial year.

Weekly train running between Jogbani to Kolkata should be operated daily.

Announcement should be made to develop Purnia junction in Bihar as model

station. An overbridge should be constructed in Jalalgarh. I demand to run

Katihar- Patna Intercity Express up to Jogbani-Patna. Stoppage of Seemanchal

Super Express which runs from Jogbani to Delhi, should be given at Jalalgarh and

a AC-2 Tier bogey should be attached to this train. I demand to complete wheel

and axel factory in Madhepura as soon as possible.

SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI: I would like to demand that Train

No. 12413-14 (Puja Express, Jammu-Ajmer-Jammu-Tawi) which goes to Vaishno

Devi should be given rail linkage to Chittorgarh junction. There is no V.I.P. quota

in majority of the trains in Chittorgarh. So, V.I.P. quota should be released in all

trains. Chittorgarh is an historical place, which is the living place of Mirabai. So

outside Chittorgarh station statues of Mirabai and a picture of the fort and statue of

the Maharana Pratap should be erected. The railway track from Ajmer to Ratlam

should be doubled, and should be electrified. A new train should be introduced

from Udaipur to Chennai, the route should be via Chittorgarh. A new train should

be introduced from Udaipur to Jammu Tavi Ajmer to Banglore via chittorgarh.

New train should also be introduced. An intercity express train should be run

between Udaipur and Jodhpur. The place where there are unmanned railway

crossings under pass should be built. From Udaipur to Ahmedabad the gauge

conversion work should be constructed on war footing and funds should be

released for the same purpose. The survey of new line from Neemach to

Banswada via Pratapgarh should be conducted.

SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL: I am speaking in support of Railway Budget

2014-15. Honourable Railway Minister in his budget has focussed highly on

passenger amenities and their safety. I am supporting the budget because I have

seen its outlay. In this budget Rs. 1038 crores have been earmarked for the

passenger amenities. In this budget Rs. 3546 crores and 25 lacks have been given

for Railway safety. We are going to generate 500 MW of electricity. Bullet train is

there. They have increased Rs. 494 crores 66 lacs on safety and 200 crores. On

passenger amenities. Similarly, if we add railway under bridges then there is Rs.

1758 crores. 5400 unmanned level crossing are being abolished on the issue of

neglect of West Bengal, I would like to say that this time for alone West Bengal

Rs. 3787 crores has been given. Uttar Pradesh has been given only Rs. 2037 crores

this time. Plan outlay of Uttar Pradesh should be increased. I am demanding a

railway line connecting Shravasti, Behraich, Balram, Domriyaganj and Khalilabad

districts. 100 crores have been given for the conversion of Badhni and Gonda line.

This time budgetary support has been increased by 16 percent. One new demo

should be given from Gorakhpur to Badhni. You have given one crore for railway

line connecting birthplace of Gautam Buddha, Piparahwa to Ayodhya via

Siddhartanagar and Basti. You will connect birth place of Gautam Buddha to the

birth place of Lord Rama via this railway line.

SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNAPURIA: I would like to thank Hon‟ble

Minister for Railways that he accepted long pending demand of doubling of line

from Jaipur to Kota via Sawaimadhopur and railway electrification from

Sawaimadhopur to Jaipur, but with these I also demand that food court should be

set up at Sawaimadhopur railway station as thousands of domestic and foreign

tourists visit daily to see Ranthambor. I would urge upon the Hon‟ble Minister for

Railways that bullet train Delhi to Sawaimadhopur via Jaipur should be introduced.

There is a need for construction an under pass from Prakash Talkies to forest office

in Sawaimadhopur. Kherada railway fatak should be opened. The work of railway

line of Devali Tonk Saketpura should be started as soon as possible. I would urge

upon the Hon‟ble Minister for Railways that the previous Government had

approved railway work shop Bhilwera, but it is not possible to acquire land under

new land acquisition scheme. Therefore, this railway workshop should be given to

Gangapur. Vansthali Vidyapeeth is a famous University in Nimai in Tonk district.

Vansthali Vidyapeeth is only one station in Tonk district. Stoppage of superfast

express train passing through here should be provided.

SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL: I rise to support the rail budget. The

corruption, nepotism and regionalism have caused severe damage to the Railways.

If we consider the railway map, we will find that the major portion of Madhya

Pradesh, which does not have rail facility, that area is Bundelkhand. If we want to

bridge the gap between North and South we will have to follow the Golden

Quadrilateral Scheme initiated by Shri Atal Ji and lay Rail Quadrilateral that will

reduce the distance between North and South by more than 100 kms. The Lalitpur-

Singrauli Rail route was started as a result of the efforts of Ms. Umaji during the

tenure of Paswan ji but that is also held up because of a small patch of Panna Tiger

reserve, if we lay route through its periphery then the rail route may increase by

merely 20 kms. Singrauli is the power capital of Madhya Pradesh, even then it is

not directly connected with the capital of India and Madhya Pradesh. If one has to

reach Bhopal, he will have to go to Singrauli to Jabalpur or Katni and then he will

reach Bhopal. There exists a rail line but there is no train from Singrauli to

Bhopal.

SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR: Before forming the government at

the Centre, during the election, the NDA leaders went about in the State making all

promises when their government was formed the people expected good days. The

increase in rail fares before the railway budget is not only unjustified but is also

gross injustice and breach of trust against the poor. The government should have

hiked the upper class fares instead of the sleeper class. High speed bullet trains are

to be introduced. It would have been better to talk of strengthening railway

infrastructure, rail facilities, safety and punctuality, doubling and extension of rail

lines. Trains run late by 10-15 hours. Bakhtiyarpur – Rajgir Section be doubled.

An overbridge be constructed near Biharsharif railway station on NH 82 from

Biharsharif to Asthawan. Lighting arrangements be made, shelters should be

constructed and drinking water should be provided at all halts between Fatuha to

Islampur. Keeping in view the facilities to the tourists/ passengers in Rajgir

(Nalanda) DMU Local trains be run between Patna to Rajgir. Several pending

projects in the State including bridges in Patna, Munger and on river Kosi be

completed.

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE: I welcome the Rail Budget presented

by Hon‟ble Minister of Railways. Every year there is a trend for announcing more

and more new trains whereas the need of the hour is to focus on passenger

amenities, there are number of railway stations in the country which lack facilities.

In Mumbai Railways are comparatively in a better financial position whereas no

special attention has been paid to local foot overbridge and under pass bridge as

well as women safety. I have few demands which are as follows: A metro train

should be started between Pune-Pimpri Chinchwad to Lonawala. A new metro rail

should be constructed between Hingwadi IT park and Pune. New trains must be

introduced between Pune to Mumbai, a new train must be started to Pune via

Konkan, Ratnagiri, Chaploon, Karjat, Panvel, so that locals may be benefitted out

of it, a new train must be started from Vakodigama to Vasai via Virar, Udaipur.

Madam, Railways earn maximum revenue from Maharashtra but as far as

Maharashtra is concerned we have received nothing but disappointment. The

number of coaches must be increased in all local trains plying between Pune

station and Lonawala.

SHRI C.N. JAYADEVAN: In the last so many years, Kerala was neglected

and we expected something new from the new Government. Many projects

were declared in the last Budget also like a coach factory in Palakkad; wagon

factory in Alleppey; electrification and automatic signaling system. This Budget

has said nothing about Kerala regarding electrification, automatic signaling system,

line doubling, etc. The Guruvayur- Thirunavaya Railway line survey is over, but

no steps have been taken for further development of the Guruvayur- Thirunavaya

Railway line. As regards the outlook of the Government, it seems that privatization

is the only way out. We cannot agree to this. I think that we have to agree to

measures like FDI and privatization in certain sectors to a certain extent, but not in

such a huge sector like the Railways.

SHRI JANARDAN MISHRA: I rise to support the Rail Budget presented

by the hon. Railway Minister in this House. I want to express my gratitude to the

hon. Railway Minister for announcing a new train from Rewa to Rajkot for my

Rewa parliamentary constituency. Besides, it is requested that Garib Rath train

from Jabalpur to Mumbai be extended upto Rewa and, if possible, a new train from

Rewa to Nagpur should be started to provide the transport facility to the people of

Rewa and its nearby districts. The work of rail line from Lalitpur to Singroli via

Rewa needs to be expedited and a new rail line from Rewa to Mirzapur via

Mauganj should be constructed. In my opinion, there is no need of Railway Board

when Railway department is already in existence. Hence, it is in the interest of the

Railways to dismantle Railway Board.

SHRI M. MURLI MOHAN: Although 58 new trains introduced from

different parts of the country, no sufficient trains have been introduced for the

residual State of Andhra Pradesh. I would urge upon the Hon‟ble Minister for

Railways to allocate adequate funds for all the ongoing projects pertaining to both

Stats of A.P. and Telangana. I hope that the Minister will accept my request for

introduction of Rajdhani Express and a Duronto Express from Visakhapatnam to

New Delhi via Rajahmundry, Eluru and Vijayawada. Modernisation of

Rajahmundry Railway Station is the need of the Hour and the existing facilities do

not suffice to meet the unprecedented rush from the pilgrims during the

Mahakumbamela. Coming to the important issue that there is road-cum-rail bridge

on the river Godavari. However, it is the one of the oldest bridges in the country

which needs adequate financial support from the Central Government to carry out

necessary repair works as some of the pillars are apparently appearing cracks. I

would urge upon the Minister to introduce a Bullet Train from Visakhapatnam to

Secunderabad and once more train from Visakhapatnam to New Delhi via

Rajahmundry, Eluru and Vijayawada. I support the Railway Budget.

SHRI RAJVEER SINGH: It is the first time that I have come to the house

after winning. Budget 2014-15 has been presented as per the expectations of the

people. In the previous governments if there was planning there was no money and

if there was money good planning was missing. Therefore, there has been no

development. In the previous budget page number 17 point number five there was

a proposal for laying railway line from Aligarh to Etah. There are two districts in

my Lok Sabha constituency i.e. Etah and Kasganj which are not connected by

railway line. I am very much hopeful that Etah and Kasganj will be connected by

railway line and hon‟ble Minister will certainly consider the survey which has

already been done between Etah and Aligarh.

DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR: The Honorable Minister for Railways has

raised the hopes of everyone by propounding a vision for the future in the present

Budget. The important thing mentioned by the Minister is to lay more emphasis on

completing pending projects rather than starting new projects. I demand the

stoppage of Khajuraho-Udaipur Express train at Oraccha and all of the important

express trains at Newadi station. Charanpaduka is an important place near Dumara

in Chhatarpur district and known as Jallianwala Bagh of Bundelkhand. I demand

the stoppage of all trains at such a important place. I also demand an intercity

express from Tikamgarh to Bhopal, extension of Bina-Bhopal passenger train upto

Tikamgarh, a railway reservation counter at Naugaon. Jhansi-Tikamgarh passenger

train runs daily in the morning and it should also be operated in the evening.

Budgetry provisions may kindly be made to Khajuraho-Chhatarpur-Sagar rail line.

If a railway coach/wagon factory is established at Chhatarpur, it will create ample

employment opportunities to the local youths. I also demand that half AC coach in

every train should be reserved for carrying the burn patients. Jhansi- Mauha-

Manikpur single railway line should be doubled. We usually see the children

taking-off their shirts and moping the floor of the coaches/platforms. The railways

should take stringent steps to check such child labour in railways.

SHRI SHAILESH KUMAR: Bhagalpur is known as city of silk products.

Businessmen from different parts of the country come here. I request the Hon‟ble

Minister that Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains should be introduced from

Bhagalpur to Delhi and Howrah as well. The office of rail division should be set up

in Bhagalpur so that the rail operations can be smooth there. There are a large

number of unmanned railway crossings (level crossing) in my Parliamentary

Constituency. Rail overbridges should be constructed there. Lichies, Mangoes,

Bananas etc. are produced in large quantity in Bhagalpur but for the want of air

conditioned wagons farmers face difficulties in sending their products outside.

Therefore, I request the government that a separate air conditioned wagon should

be attached to trains running from Bhagalpur to other metro cities.

DR. BHOLA SINGH: Honorable Minister of Railways has presented

Railway Budget. I support the Budget. In the given time I would like to draw the

attention of the honorable Railway Minister to two three points. A Railway bridge

named as Simaria bridge had been constructed to connect Northern and Southern

Bihar. For the last four years the bridge is not in operation. So I would like to

urge the honorable Minister of Railways to make this bridge operational. Barauni

junction is the biggest platform of Asia. With thousands of Housing Buildings and

2500 acres of land this yard is not operational. Railway zone has been constructed

in Hazipur. This yard should be made operational. Begusarai is an industrial town.

Fertilizer plant, oil refinery everything is there. But there is no Express train.

Many trains have not been given stoppage here. Station is in dilapidated condition.

We do not want that trains stop here for ten minutes. On many small stations trains

get stoppage, so Begusarai should also get stoppage.

SHRI BHANU PRATAP SINGH VERMA: The stoppages of trains which

were cancelled by Hon‟ble Minister throughout the country and in my constituency

after the election have been restored, I express my sincere thanks. Bundelkhand is

a backward area. The funds may be released for laying the rail lines where the

survey have already been carried out and new rail lines may be laid in the area so

that all round development of the area may take place. There is no direct train to

Delhi on the 200 kilometer long route. The Shramshakti Express which originates

from New Delhi at 11.50 PM which terminates at Kanpur, if this train is extended

upto Jhansi then several villages situated on this lines would be directly connected

to Delhi. Stoppage of Rapti Sagar Express up and down trains may be provided at

Konch and Etah. Stoppage may be provided at Etah station for Lok Manya Tilak

up and down train and Pushkar Express so that passengers from Etah can travel in

these trains. One chair car coach may be added to Inter-city Express.

SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN: I would say that the Budget is confined to just

four States namely Karnataka, Gujarat, UP and Maharashtra. There are no new

trains, lines, production units or other railway developments announced for the

State. Kozhikode railway station is in my parliamentary constituency. This station

has been included in the list for World Class Stations. I would request the Hon.

Minister to direct the Chairman of the Railway Board to convene a meeting for its

speedy implementation. A large number of students and employees from Malabar

region of Kerala are daily commuting to Bengaluru and Mysore. A demand for a

train between Kozhikode and Bengaluru has been on the rise but unfortunately the

Railway Minister has not considered this demand. The Minister has further

indicated in para 3 of his speech that the Indian Railways recognizes the need for

religious tourism and indicated religious circuits but unfortunately, Kerala again

has not been touched. Guruvayur Temple is the second most revenue earning

temples in the country next only to Tirupathi. Similarly, Sabarimala is the second

most revenue earning temple in our country. So, I would request that both these

temples should be included in the list of religious circuits. In addition, the

frequency of Rajdhani Express, Sampark Kranti Express and Shalimar Express

should be increased to daily.

SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY: Indian Railways is the life line to

India. It connects every nook and corner of the country. But the Rail Budget

presented is not upto the mark. We endeavoured to make the Government allocate

funds and survey the Parasnath-Madhuban Railway Line. But this work is lying

pending since 2004. Jharkhand ranks second in earning revenue of the country.

Our region has three divisions – Adra division, Asansol division and Dhanbad

division. All these three divisions contribute 40 per cent revenue earned by

Railways. The Giridih-Kodorma Rail line was inaugurated during the tenure of the

then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But this work is yet to be

completed. I request the Hon. Minister to complete this work at the earliest. Since

our region has three divisions, I have already requested the Government to provide

halts of some trains. The Hatia Jaynagar Express should stop at Bermo Junction of

Chandra Pura Junction. Similarly, Patna-Ranchi Jan Shatabdi Trains should also

stop there. I also request to extend Gomo-Burkhana Passenger Trains to Asansol

and it should be converted into EMU. The Hatia-Pune Express should be extended

to Dhanbad. The Jasidih-Kolkata fast passenger should be extended to Giridih.

Pantry car should be attached to Jabalpur express and the frequency of Howrah-

Bhopal should be increased to 7 days a week.

SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

(CCEA) stated on 17th

January 2008 that the gauge conversion of 454 kilometer

from Ratlam to Akola stretch will provide an alternative railway route from North

to South with reduced travelling distance. The CCEA strongly recommended to

complete this important project worth rupees 1421.25 crore in 5 years. But, during

the last 6 years, only 60% work on this section has been completed and the work

on Akola to Khandwa stretch has not been yet started. I request the Hon‟ble

Minister to initiate the work of gauge conversion on Akola to Khandwa section as

early as possible and also to complete it in a scheduled time frame. There was

railway facilities from Sikandarabad to Jaipur nearly 20-25 ago. Today, we are

deprived of this railway facility. I hope that adequate allocations will be made to

stop this injustice being to us.

SHRI P.R. SUNDARAM: Hon‟ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has

welcomed the Rail Budget of 2014-15 for various reasons including enhancement

of passengers amenities, providing passenger security, improving the fiscal

management, reviving an modernising the freight carrying capacity of railway.

The announcement for strengthening the railway protection force provides a relief

in ensuring the safety of passenger. Out of 17000 personnel to be recruited for this

purpose 4000 will be women. I welcome this proposal. I also urge the Hon‟ble

Railway Minister to explain as to what happened to the announcement made in the

earlier budgets with regard to fixing security gadgets in all rail coaches. Railways

should come forward to open many number of computerised reservation centres in

such places where there is no rail connectivity so that common people could plan

their travel well in advance. I request that superfast trains should be operated in

Chennai-Coimbatore, Chennai-Madurai, Tiruchy-Rameswaram, Tiruchy-

Kanyakumari and Kanyakumari-Coimbatore routes. Palani express (No. 16001)

should have a stoppage at Mohanur and West Coast Express (No. 16628) and

Intercity Express (No 12678) at Sangagiri Station. Reservation centres should be

opened at Rasipuram, Namakkal and Mohanur railway stations. Doubling of

railway line and electrification work should be started on Salem-Karur railway

line. A new train service should be introduced from Namakkal to Chennai via

Salem, Jolarpettao, Katpadi and Arakkonam. A new rail route should be created

between Namakkal and Tiruchy. Proper latrine facilities should be provided at

Rasipuram, Namakkal and Mohanur railway stations.

The discussion was not completed.

P. SREEDHARAN,

Secretary-General.

© 2014 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT

NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that

should be considered authoritative.

English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at

http://loksabha.nic.in.