Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu started his railway budget speech in Parliament on Thursday by saying that the budget is inspired by the PM’s vision of making railways the backbone of India’s progress.

“We are taking all efforts to translate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision into reality. Railways is an organisation that has stood the test of time.”

Prabhu mentioned co-operation, collaboration and communication, as the hallmarks of Indian Railways’ journey forward. He stated the 3Rs of the rail budget to be Restructure, Reorganise, Rejuvenate.

The following are the highlights of his speech:

·     ·         Increased the outlay for railway electrification by 50% and plan to electrify 2000 kms in the next FY.

·         Average speed of freight train increased to 40km/hour and passenger trains to 80km/hr.

·         A project gets sanctioned in 6-8 months, which earlier used to take 2 years.

·         Action has been initiated on 139 budget announcements made last year.  Indian Railways to surpass ambitious target of commissioning 2500 kms of broad gauge lines,

·         Almost 30% higher than last year. In 2015-16, we have eliminated 1000 unmanned crossings. All unmanned railway crossings will be manned by 2020.

·         For 2016-17, we expect an operating ratio of 92%.

·         Rs. 8720 crore saved from the last year's budget estimate.

·         Our investment will be close to double of the previous years, a feat never achieved before.

·         Expect revenue growth of over 10% this year. Contracts of Rs 24000 crore awarded since

·         Nov 2014 as compared to Rs 13000 crore in last 6 years.

·         The Cabinet has approved redevelopment of 400 stations via PPP (public-private-partnership) mode.

·         Indian Railways will generate employment of 9 crore man-days in 2017-18 and 14 crore man-days in 2018-19.

·         Despite this, passenger and freight charges will remain the same.

·         17,000 bio-toilets in trains and additional toilets at 475 stations by FY16-end.

·         We installed 2,000 water vending machines at stations

·         1780 ticket vending machines were set up, introduced smart cards for cashless transactions and launched mobile apps.

·         Will Introduce WiFi in 100 stations this year. Plan to introduce WiFi in 400 stations over the next 2 yrs. Partnered with Google for WiFi project.

·         Walls of many stations have been converted to murals, also contributing to social awareness. All major stations to have CCTVs in phased manner.

·         33% sub-quota for women soon in all reserved categories. CCTV cameras at all Tatkal windows soon.

·         Overnight double-decker train Uday Express to be introduced on busiest routes, with a 40% higher carrying capacity.

·         Tejas trains to be launched; these will be fast trains running at a speed of 130 kmph with world-class service.

·         Plans to launch long-distance superfast trains for unreserved travel. New Hamsafar Express to be launched with three-tier AC service for unreserved travel.

·         Over 65,000 berths added via new coaches.

·         Sale of tickets through handheld terminals on shorter routes. Extra coaches for unreserved travel.