Populist all along the route
THE Railway Budget for 2004-05 contains no surprises. Living up to his reputation, the new Railway Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, has stuck to the populist track and left the passenger fares for all classes as also the freight rates untouched. ... More

FCI may not feed enough to Rly kitty
IF there is somebody that the Railways should specially thank for helping it boost freight revenues over the last couple of years, it is none other the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Disposal of foodgrains from the venerable corporation's ... More

Laloo attempts to make travel more comfortable
NOT only has the new Railway Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, spared all classes of passenger any fare hike, he is also endeavouring to ensure that travelling by a train becomes a bit less harrowing than at present. So, the next time you reach ... More

Cautious welcome by trade & industry
TRADE and industry circles in Mumbai sounded a cautious welcome to the Railway Budget presented by the Union Railways Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, on Tuesday. According to Mr Nanik Rupani, President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, ... More

Rail budget 2004-05: Not the right signal
The Rail Budget, presented by Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, has not really given a thrust to the ailing Railways. The paradigms within which the Railways must work should have been spelt out in a National Policy that would ensure greater commercial orienta tion, without having to part with the ownership of assets or management. The Railway Minister's reluctance to do so is intriguing, says A. V. Poulose. More

IRFC to raise $200-250 m via foreign bond route
THE Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) will raise $200-250 million from the overseas market during fiscal 2004-05 to meet the borrowing target of Rs 3,400 crore set by the Railway Budget. ``We will borrow $200 million immediately either ... More

A Budget true to form
Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav's maiden Railway Budget, presented to Parliament on Tuesday, maintained the familiar refrain much the same way as his predecessors in politically fractured regimes, to which the country has become accustomed over the last 15 ... More

FIEO commends status quo on freight rates
THE Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has welcomed the decision of the Railway Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, to retain the passenger fares and the freight rates at the current levels in his maiden Railway Budget. In a ... More

Go-by for Rakesh Mohan report again
IT looks as though the Government has decided to virtually dump the report of the Expert Group on Indian Railways headed by Dr Rakesh Mohan. For the second successive year, there is no increase in passenger fares or a `rebalancing' of ... More

AP Chamber hails Rail Budget
THE Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) has welcomed the Union Government's decision not to increase freight rates and passenger fares. "This will boost the growth of trade, commerce and industry. This, in ... More

No change in direction
THE good news of the Railway Budget first: Barring a modest increase in parcel rates, neither freight nor passenger fare has been hiked. The bad news is that it offers nothing new — no course correction to inspire ... More

Will it be a happy journey for everyone?
THE 2004-05 Rail Budget presented by the Union Minister for Railways, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, to Parliament on Tuesday appears to have flummoxed many an analyst as he boldly belied even optimistic projection of a minor upward adjustment in upper ... More

Politics on track, economics not
THE Railway Budget 2004-05 did not belie any expectations, because there were none. Considering the track record of the Railways Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, in his other role as the arbiter of all that transpires ... More

Govt increases expenditure on safety provisions
IN the backdrop of the recent Matsyagandha Express accident, the Government has increased its total expenditure on railway safety to Rs 2,933 crore in 2004-05 as compared to Rs 2,350.66 crore in 2003-04. As a percentage of total outlay, the ... More

Bonanza for khadi, handloom sectors on Rly procurement?
THE khadi and handloom sectors could have landed themselves a Rs 200 crore - Rs 300 crore business opportunity following the Railway Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav's announcement today that the Railways would source upholstery and linen from the ... More

Unreserved ticketing system to be extended to all zonal rlys
PASSENGERS travelling in unreserved coaches will find it easier to buy tickets, with the Railways proposing to extend the facility of buying unreserved tickets three days in advance to the entire network. After successful trials on Northern ... More

Budget lacks commercial orientation: India Inc
THE Railway Budget has evoked mixed response from captains of the Indian industry. While welcoming the proposals for maintaining the operating expenses, providing greater safety to passengers, initiating drives for cleanliness and introducing ... More

`Our projections are realistic'
"The very fact that we have reduced our passenger earning from the Interim Budget shows that we have pegged it at the most realistic level. Our actual earnings during last year registered a growth of 5.26 per cent and we have fixed it up at more or l ess the same level... We have to go in for marketing operation since there is enough scope to exploit the market and increase the earnings." More

KCCI welcomes proposals
THE President of the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Mr R.D. Kini, has welcomed the Railway Budget proposals for 2004-05. He told Business Line that the Railway Minister's decision not to hike freight rates would help ... More

Rail Budget `a big disappointment'
THE Railway Budget was a major disappointment for Karnataka as there was no mention of any specific proposals or allocation for the early completion of the long-delayed Hassan-Mangalore line gauge conversion. This would impede the development ... More

Steel industry sees fillip to demand
THE steel industry today welcomed the Railway Budget for 2004-05 and had a sigh of relief that freight rates have not been increased further. The industry was also upbeat about the Railway Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav's proposal for ... More

Dependence on Exchequer for financing Plans on the rise
CONTRARY to the stated objective of making it a self-financing, commercial undertaking, the ground reality is that the dependence of the Railways on the Exchequer to finance its Plan investments is showing a steadily rising trend. During the ... More

Indal hails move to use aluminium in rail wagons
INDIAN Aluminium Company Ltd (Indal) of the Aditya Birla Group has commended the Union Railway Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, for pointing out in his Budget speech that the use of aluminium in the manufacture of railway wagons will be ... More

Rail Budget pragmatic: Cochin Chamber
THE trade and industry here has welcomed the Union Railway Budget 2004, describing it a `pragmatic one' with a focus on modernisation of railways and infrastructure development. The President of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr ... More

`Proposed Jamalpur wagon unit a retrograde step'
THE President and CEO of Texmaco Ltd, a notable railway wagon manufacturer in the private sector, Mr Ramesh Maheshwari, reacting to the Railway Budget, said here on Tuesday that the proposed wagon production at Jamalpur Workshop of the Railways ... More

Tourist specials
In an attempt to encourage budget tourism, the Railways proposes to run tourist special ``Village-on-Wheels'' trains of ordinary sleeper class to places of religious and historical importance. These trains will collect the tourists from a ... More

RAILWAYS
PM's help sought to check slide in petro cargo
THE Railways has sought the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh's intervention to cushion the impact on its revenues from the fast increasing network of petroleum pipelines. The Railways wants that the Government should keep them in the loop ... More

Summer special trains for Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Railways has extended services of the 621/622 Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram weekly summer special and the 647/648 Bangalore-Nagercoil weekly summer special. According to an official spokesman, the ... More

ROADWAYS
Bus strike plan dropped in Kerla
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The All Kerala Bus Operators Organisation has decided to drop its plan for strike from Wednesday following talks with the Transport Minister, Mr R. Balakrishna Pillai, here late on Monday evening. Announcing this, Mr ... More