Railway budget, development oriented, says Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday lauded the Centre's Railway Budget for fiscal 2015-16 in Parliament as a profound development oriented budget laying down the roadmap of the critical contribution of Indian Railways in national development.

"It is a very profound development oriented budget which seeks to lay down the roadmap of the critical contribution of Railways in national development. What is important is that the budget is very holistic, and all the segments of critical components for development needs to be addressed have been addressed," he told the mediapersons here.

"There is a vision, there is a roadmap and right from cleanliness to improvement in the safety standards to further passengers amenities at the ground level, all have been addressed including a vision for smart trains, more speedy trains and the needs of passengers' safety," he added.

Presenting his maiden railway budget, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said the railways has to undergo a transformation over the next five years.

He said the proposed investment in railways will be Rs. 8,56,020 crores by 2019.

The thrust of the Railways is to become a prime mover of the economy once again, act as a resource mobilisation for higher investments, decongestion of heavy haul routes and speeding up of trains, emphasis on gauge conversion, doubling, tripling and electrification.

Raising the 'Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat' slogan, Prabhu said professional agencies will be engaged to ensure cleanliness. There will be e-catering to select meals from an array of choices and passenger can order food through IRCTC website at the time of booking of tickets in the coming days.