One of the key things in the Railway Budget 2016-17 presented by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was that there was no price hike in the passenger fare. The key highlights of Prabhu's Railway Budget are as follow
• The budget spared passengers and goods movement from any increase in tariffs.
• Announcement of four special trains- Hamsafar-fully 3rd AC, Tejas-fast trains with on-board entertainment; Uday- double decker trains; Antyodaya Express- long distance superfast train for unreserved passengers.
• All-India 24X7 helpline for women.
• Senior citizens to get 50 percent reservation for lower berths.
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• Aastha Circuit Trains to connect important Pilgrim Centers.
• Porters not to be called 'coolies' but be called 'sahayaks' now; will be trained in soft skills.
• Children's menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available for travelling mothers.
• All stations will be brought under CCTV surveillance.
• World's first Bio-vacuum toilet developed by Indian Railways is being used in Dibrugarh Rajdhani express.
• Railways to introduce WiFi services at 100 stations this year, 400 more stations over next two years.
• 1,600 kms of electrification this year and 2,000 km proposed for the next year.
• Rs. 8.5 lakh crores to be spent over five years for modernization of railway infrastructure.
• A saving of Rs. 8,720 crores for budget estimates of last year will be effected this year.
• Announcement of introduction of bar-coded tickets.
• E-booking on concession passes for journalists to be introduced.
• Propose to invite FM radio stations to provide train borne entertainment via PA systems.
• Integrating all issues under two mobile apps- one for ticketing other for grievances
• All new Railway stations to be built as per Accessible India guidelines
• IRTC will begin to manage catering in a phased manner; local cuisine of choice will be made available.
• Adoption and dissemination of latest tech is the way forward to a zero accident system.
• Chennai to get India's first rail auto hub.
• Cancellation facility to be available on 139 helpline number.
• Northeast India especially Mizoram and Manipur to be connected through broad gauge soon.
