The Rail Budget has lots of promises for common passengers as it did last July.
Train fares have not been increased to benefit commuters –whatever tall promises are being made, the big question is how will funds be generated?
One measure is advertising on rail coaches and platforms etc, even corporate names may be used for trains or station names etc. It is not desirable to put hoarding of corporates on stations as this will spoil the beauty of trains and stations. Even advertisements on metro coaches in Delhi look awful.
The alternative is to place a banner at appropriate places only with the name of the corporate company who is financing or helping in funds generation for its specific services.
The states’ participation in funding is welcome but politically it must ensure smooth running in the long term.
Another way to increase revenue is to have more trips or routes – already we see overloaded passengers travelling on the train roof tops – risking their lives. For safety this practice must be stopped.
Funds can also be generated through tax free bonds.
Freight hiked on food grains, pulses, cement, coal and steel etc will increase inflation in general.
Fast trains with a speed of 200 kmph are welcome but infrastructure for the same is mostly lacking at present. Already many accidents are occurring due to this. Before starting it, safety should be ensured on technical grounds.
Booking in advance with 120 days has no practical benefit –earlier 90 days was tried and that failed too. 60 days is enough.
Five minutes unreserved tickets are a dream only. At present even to buy a platform tickets require 30 minutes. No separate counters are maintained for the same. Even senior citizens have to queue up here. I suggest an online platform tickets facility like e-ticketing with a validity of 24 hours.
The budget has rightly proposed lower berths for all senior citizens but practically all senior citizens cannot get lower berth as per the present software booking system. It is suggested to change the software in such a way that when the ticket quota is booked completely, automatically the senior citizens berth is changed to lower berth if at first instance it is not so.
Amenities too need improvement: sometimes mice in the compartment is seen, the food is horrible, trains lack punctuality. No passenger should be allowed to travel in reserved compartments without a valid ticket. Passengers travelling on the roof of compartments must be penalised too. The toilets must be cleaned regularly; water in the wash basin and liquid soap must be always available. The amount of luggage that can be carried by a person in reserved compartments needs to be specified. There must be printed menu cards listing the price of food in order to avoid over-charging.
