RAJYA SABHA ________ SUPPLEMENT TO SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE ________ (Proceedings other than Questions and Answers) ________ Monday, May 02, 2016/ Vaisakha 12, 1938 (Saka) _______ GOVERNMENT BILL The Appropriation (Railways) No. 2 Bill, 2016 - Contd. SHRI BHUPINDER SINGH: I support this Bill. The state of Odisha is lagging behind as far as railway line is concerned .There is merely 15 km of railway line in Odisha in comparison to national average of 19 km. I am also unable to understand the administrative ground behind shifting of the railway project from Kalahandi , which is one of the most backward areas. There might be some political compulsion behind it. The Railway line from Lanjigarh to Ambagorada and from Khurda Road to Bolangir rail line should be completed at the earliest. Intercity train should run from Vizag to Kalahandi. There is a proposal to make 17 model stations in Odisha. Kindly look into this. All train should have mandatory stoppage of two minutes in district headquarter. The train from Ganganagar to Hemkund Sahib should be extended. There is need of doubling of one line in Chandigarh. Our new projects should be expedited as early as possible. We have also requested for increasing frequency of some new trains. ___________________________________________________ This Synopsis is not an authoritative record of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha. 65 SHRI SANTIUSE KUJUR: North Frontier Railways has become the lifeline of the North-East Region. Railways are conscious of the strategic importance of this area. I am from BTAD area of Assam, which is least developed region of India.The development of the Railway system in the North-Eastern Region has not been taken up with a momentum. North-Eastern Region must be provided with railway facility of double track system. Electrification of entire North East Frontier Railways may be done on urgent basis. Bogibeel Bridge Project is a strategically an ambitious project in Assam. I request the hon. Minister to have a stoppage in Tangla in Naharlagun-New Delhi AC SF express. Many national projects had been started under the UPA Government but now they are almost stopped. Kindly consider on this . I support this Bill. SHRI LAL SINH VADODIA: In our state Gujarat there is no railway line between Khambat to Dhuvaran. Kindly consider on this. To decongest traffic jam on Vadodara station a separate line must be constructed from Kurjan to Sumlaya via Dabhoi. A platform should be constructed at Saima railway station on Anand and Khambhat line. There should be headquarters in Ahmadabad itself for Ahmadabad, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Rajkot divisions. There should be provision of a reservation in the trains for Ex-MPs like sitting MPs. SHRI VISHAMBHAR PRASAD NISHAD: The number of General Bogies should be increased in the trains and sanitation should also be taken care of. Keeping the rising incidents of poisoning in the trains in view, co-ordination between GRP and RPF should be there. There should be arrangement of separate coaches for women and girl students in the trains. Railway line should be doubled between Khairar and Jhansi. Reevanchal Express should be extended up to Banda. Chitrakoot Express should be extended upto Lucknow. Trains are stopped at Belatal station in the night for one and half hours without any facility. There is a demand of stoppages of Garib Rath at Ragaul station and Uttar Pradesh Sampark Kranti Express at Mataundh station. Tulsi Express and Betwa Express should be run on daily basis. The technical snag of Lucknow Mail should be removed. First of all, 66 we have to change the old tracks and old system should be replaced by the new one. SHRIMATI RANEE NARAH: There is no roadmap for North-East in this Appropriation Bill and Railway Budget. Today, even after a lapse of two years there is no scheme for North-East. Development of railways in North East should not be neglected for the reason that there is no railway minister from North East. China has completed its railway network around India which poses danger to our country. Indian Army has sent a proposal for easy movement which should be accepted. Passenger amenities for Kamakhya Station have not been included in the plan for 18 pilgrimage centres. Bogibeel rail cum road bridge which has not been completed in the last 14 years should be completed speedily . The Ministry of Railways is not giving importance to sports. No fast train for North East has been started. It is demanded that fast trains from Delhi to Silchar, Delhi to Tinsukia and Delhi to Moku- Sullong should run. There should be a daily train during day time from Guwahati to Lakhimpur and Moku Sulong. There is much problem for ladies. Therefore, a train should be introduced during day time for ladies or general public. SHRI RIPUN BORA: Railway connectivity in the North- Eastern region is the worst in the country. So far as our Assam is concerned, except Guwahati, all the railway stations in Assam are in a very bad shape. Even there is no provision of drinking water also. There is no proper toilet. So, I urge upon the hon. Railway Minister to take note of these problems and take remedial measures in the days to come. By increasing Rs. 5,000 crores in the Budget in comparison to the 2015-16 Budget, how will it be possible to implement 44 new projects? So far as the North-East Region is concerned, there is a long-standing demand for the establishment of a factory of railway coaches, but nowhere in the Budget, this has been mentioned. During the last two years, no project and no fund have been announced for Assam. I fail to understand the inability of Indian scientists in laying the railway line to the hilly places in North-Eastern Region. My humble submission to the Hon. Railway Minister is that the Class-III 67 and Class-IV jobs in the Indian Railways in Assam and the North- Eastern Region are kept reserved for the candidates of that region. SHRI RAJEEV SHUKLA: The growth of the Indian Railways is dependent on the gap between revenue and the operational cost. Hence, I would like to know from the Minister the present quantum of today’s operational cost, the revenue and the gap. I would also like to know about some measures like branding of the trains to enhance the revenue by which this gap is increased and development of the Indian Railways is done. The Amritsar and Kolkata freight corridor has not completed yet. I would like know how the railway minister would ensure that the superfast trains are able to run at the speed of minimum 100 k.m. per hour. Keeping in view the good facilities and the punctuality being maintained by the private trains in Britain, is there any proposal to launch private trains here also. THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS (SHRI SURESH PRABHU) replying to the debate, said: I thank all the hon. Members for participating in the discussion and would like to say that there are different kinds of challenges and different kinds of expectations from the railways in the country. One of the major challenges of the railways is that it is a part of Government of India and not a separate company like NTPC or NHPC. At the same time, people expect it to be run as also a commercial enterprise. The people also expect that we should provide concessional travel and help people to travel as much as possible too. Through this year's Budget, we are trying to say that we are, actually, working on some seven different missions, like Zero Accident Mission, PACE Mission, RAFTAAR Mission etc. We have set up Mission Directors for each of these Mission. Railway Planning and Investment Organisation is being created to take care of various requirements as well as organisational revitalising like merger of cadres and reorganisation of Railway Board. We have delegated all the powers to General Managers to help them in taking decisions. We are also working on rationalisation of tariff structure. We have changed the project appraisal rules. Government is working for those sections of people 68 who really need our help. Augumentation of infrastructure, network capacity and investment will immensely benefit economy, result into huge benefit to the people and help in improving quality of travel. In the last 65 days, since the Budget has been presented this year, we are trying to work on all the points that have been mentioned on freight business. We have already implemented about the passenger business, six different announcements which I made in the Budget. As regards the others, we have already worked on including Gatimaan Express. We have already set up the Non-Fare Revenue Directorate, etc. We have tried to ensure that all the different States get a proper allocation. So far as the North-Eastern Region is concerned we introduced direct train connecting Itanagar to the National Capital in February, 2015. In 2016-17, the entire railway track in the North- Eastern Region shall be broad gauge. A big part of this Budget, is essentially for the common man, for the weaker sections because that is a priority of our Government. In the last 65 days, since the Budget has been presented this year, we are trying to work on all the points that have been mentioned on freight business. We have already implemented about the passenger business, six different announcements which I made in the Budget. As regards the others, we have already worked on including Gatimaan Express. We have already set up the Non-Fare Revenue Directorate, etc.