___________

Odisha benefits a lot from trains that connect Howrah with the south and with the west. In the last few days announcements for the initial operation of five such trains have been made. These trains are:

1. Howrah – Mysore (via BBS)
2. Santragachi – Mangalore express (via BBS)
3. Santragachi – Nanded Exprees (via ROU and JSG)
4. Shalimar – Udaipur (via ROU and JSG) Express
5. Shalimar – Secunderabad (via BBS) Express.

Of these five, the first four bring new connectivity.

Interestingly the recent articles in the Odisha media (both English and Oriya papers; see for example, here and here.) about these new trains do not mention 3 and 4. I suspect they did not realize that most (not all) trains from Howrah to the west take the Rourkela – Jharsuguda segment. In other words most trains from Howrah to Mumbai, Pune and Maharashtra in general, to Gujarat and some of the trains to Rajasthan take the Rourkela – Jharsuguda segment. However, there are a few trains from Howrah to West that do not take this segment.

The Darbhanga – Hyderbad Express and the Patna – Durg express also go through the Rourkela – Jharsuguda segment.

Similarly several trains from Jharkhand to the south go through Odisha taking the Rourkela – Jharsuguda – Sambalpur – Titlagarh – Rayagada – Vijianagaram route. Main among them are the daily Dhanbad – Allepey express and the Ranchi/Tata – Yesvantpur express.

The Samata express from Vizag to Delhi and the Bilaspur – Tirupaty Express go through the Rayagada –  Titlagarh – Raipur segment. The Vizag to Amritsar Express takes the Palasa – Berhampur – Bhubaneswar and Bhubaneswar – Angul – Sambalpur – Jharsuguda segments.

Not so long ago Puri and Bhubaneswar were the only initiating and terminal stations in Odisha with trains plying only on a few major routes: (i)  Kharagpur – Bhubaneswar – Berhampur (ii) Tatanagar – Rourkela – Jharsuguda – Bilaspur (iii) Khurda Rd – Puri. (iv) Jharsuguda – Sambalpur – Titlagarh – Raipur (v) Titlagarh – Rayagada – Vijianagaram ; with only the first three having significant number of trains.

Over the last 10-15 years things have been changing steadily and the following (from Samaja)  is a welcome announcement. It will connect the Bardbil – Joda mining towns to the Odisha heartland.

With this extension Barbil will have a daily train to Puri and a daily train to Kolkata.

Following is a list of the other stations (besides the main line stations of Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Balasore, Jharsuguda and Rourkela) which now have emerging connectivity.

1. Barbil: Daily express train to Puri and a daily express train to Kolkata. A daily passenger train to Tatanagar.
   1. Kendujhargarh: The train to Puri passes through Kendujhargarh. In addition there is a fast passenger between Kendujhargarh and Bhubaneswar 5 days a week.
2. Baripada: Six days a week express train to Bhubaneswar and 3 days a week express train to Kolkata; three passenger trains (two of them 6 days a week; another 3 days a week) to Rupsa.
3. Koraput: Daily express train to Bhubaneswar and Jagdalpur, Daily express train to Kolkata, Daily express train to Rourkela, Daily passenger to Rayagada, Daily passenger to Vizag and Kirandul, and  a 5 days a week express train to Vizianagaram and Vizag has been announced.
4. Paradeep: Daily express train to Puri (via Bhubaneswar) and three passenger trains to Cuttack.
5. Gunupur: A daily passenger between Gunupur and Puri (via Bhubaneswar).
6. Rayagada: There are many trains that pass through Rayagada linking Rayagada with Vizianagaram and beyond (Vizag, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar), with Titlagarh and beyond (Raipur, Nagpur, Bhopal, Delhi, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Tata, Dhanbad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata) and with Koraput and (Jagdalpur)  Among them are a daily express train between Rayagada and Sambalpur and daily passenger trains between Rayagada and Vizag, Rayagada and Vijaywada, and Rayagada and Koraput.
7. Titlagarh: There are many trains that pass through linking Titlagarh with Raipur and beyond (Nagpur, Bhopal, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Gandhinagar), with Sambalpur and beyond (Rourkela, Dhanbad, Tata, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Kolkata), with Vizianagaram and beyond (Vizag, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi), and with Koraput and beyond (Jagdalpur). Among them are a daily express train between Titlagarh and Kolkata, and daily passenger trains between Titlagarh and Raipur and Titlagarh and Jharsuguda.
8. Balangir: There are many trains that pass through linking Balangir with Titlagarh and beyond (Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Koraput, Vizag, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi) and Balangir with Sambalpur and beyond (Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Dhanbad, Tata, Kolkata). Among them is a daily express train between Balangir and Bhubaneswar.
9. Bhawanipatna: With the Lanjigarh Rd – Bhawanipatna – Junagarh line coming to a completion within a year it is expected that we will have new trains to/from Bhawanipatna in a year or two. Currently, Kesinga and Titlagarh stations serve this area.

Update: The updated train timings of this extended train is as follows. It is slower than expected and takes 4 hours between Rourkela and Hatia. But those extra stops, many in Jharkhand, makes it easy for the Jharkhand people to accept this extension. That may be the reason it has these many stops in between.

(Thanks to rourkelacity.com for the pointer to this topic.)

Following is from a report in Telegraph.

… the Jammu Tawi-Hatia Express will be extended till Rourkela from November 12. Hitherto, Rourkela could enjoy the services of only Hatia-Puri Tapaswini Express, Hatia-Bhubaneswar Garib Rath Express and Hatia-Jharsuguda Passenger.

The above report is from the Jharkhand edition of Telegraph. It is nice to hear that they are taking this news positively, unlike many places which complain when a train originating/terminating from their city is extended.

Although this is a slow train with many stops, this will be the first direct connection between a city in Odisha and Jammu Tawi. The major en-route stops of this train are: Muri, Allahabad, Kanpur, Tundla, Aligarh, Delhi, Sonipat, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Pathankot Jn. From Ranchi it currently takes 30:25 hrs to Delhi. It takes about 2:30-3 hrs from Rourkela to Ranchi. So from Rourkela it will take about 33 hrs to Delhi. In comparison Utkal Express plus the 08177 Tata-JSG special takes 26:25 + 2:20 = 28:45hrs. So although it is not that good an alternative to travel to Delhi, it provides new connectivity between Rourkela to many other cities such as: Allahabad, Kanpur, Tundla, Aligarh, Sonipat, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Pathankot Jn and Jammu Tawi.

This extension is the result of the efforts of the people of Rourkela. Their movement to provide better connectivity and facilities at Rourkela should be energized by this initial result.

From an initial look, Rourkela has good connectivity to places in the west (Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, etc.) and Kolkata.

With the above mentioned train the connectivity to Delhi will be decent and as mentioned their will be new connectivity to many new cities in the North. (Earlier there was only a biweekly train to/from Varanasi.)

In terms of connectivity to Southern cities the main trains are: the daily Allepey train with stoppages at Vizianagaram, Vizag, Vijaywada, Chennai, Coimbatore, Palghat, and Kochi (Ernakulum); thrice a week to/from Bangalore via Vijaywada and Tirupati; and weekly to Hyderabad. So the connectivity to Bangalore and Hyderabad needs to be improved urgently. Connectivity to/from Hyderabad could be easily improved by extending the biweekly Sambalpur-Nizamabad express to Rourkela. (One needs to check the current rake-sharing arrangements for it.)

The site http://rourkelarail.wetpaint.com/page/DEMANDS lists a bunch of demands from some railfans from Rourkela. It would help if they make a prioritized list of their demands for trains (new, extensions, frequency increases): Top, Top 3, Top 5. Note that diversions and rerouting of trains is extremely rare as the people in the current routes (who will lose that train) will oppose it. So such demands undermine the effort.

Following is from a report in Pioneer.

The railway authorities after inspecting number of places in KBK districts and not finding them suitable have identified Santipalli at Berhampur in Ganjam district to set up the proposed rail wagon factory.

According to sources, a rail wagon factory is to be set up in KBK districts of Odisha as per the 2010-2011 Railway Budget. Accordingly, the railway authorities visited Kalahandi, Kesinga, Narla Road, Lanjigarh Road, and Bhawanipatna Railway Station area to find out 100 acres of land adjacent to the rail track and submit a feasible report to the Government of Odisha for acquisition of land. However, the railway administration could not find a suitable place for the purpose and moved to coastal districts for feasible locations for wagon factory.

The Ganjam district administration and rail officers made a joint inspection in the district and found a place at Santipalli near Jagannathpur Railway Station of Berhampur. The State Government has approved to provide the 100 acre of land at Santipalli and the proposal has been sent to Railway Ministry, for their final consent for further plan of action. The project would be taken up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

This is ridiculous. I can not believe that there is no suitable land near the railway track in Kalahandi.

Moreover the Railway minister has already said that he can give another wagon factory if a suitable land is found in Kalahandi. So even if some powerful person wants to have a wagon factory in Ganjam, that can still happen while a wagon factory is made in Kalahandi. So the Odisha government should take up on the Railway minister’s offer immediately. 

Based on the 2011-12 and 2010-11 budgets the status of doubling in Odisha is as follows:

1. Second bridge over Mahanadi and Birupa: Done.
2. Nergundi-Rajathgarh-Barang: Nergundi-Rajathgarh is basically done. For Rajathgarh-Barang, this year there is an allocation of 33.2 Crores. With this allocation, by March 2012, 265.2 crores is expected to be spent. This is out of a total estimated budget of 275 crores. In other words by 2012 March this part will be almost done.
3. Nergundi-Cuttack-Raghunathpur-Rahama-Paradeep: Doubling of Nergundi-Cuttack-Raghunathpur is basically done. There is a budget of 0.1 crores for this in 2011-12 and so far 178.19 crores have been spent on this out of a total estimated budget of 180.24 crores. Doubling of Rahama-Paradeep is also basically done. There is a budget of 0.1 crores for this in 2011-12 and so far 78.72 crores have been spent on this out of a total estimated budget of 80.76 crores. There is no mention of the Raghunathpur-Rahama segment in the budget, but the maps show that this part is doubled. In other words doubling of this whole segment is done.
4. Cuttack-Barang: This year there is an allocation of 39 crores for this. With this allocation, by March 2012, 180.2 crores is expected to be spent. This is out of a total estimated budget of 186 crores. In other words by 2012 March this will be almost done.
5. Barang-Khurda Rd 3rd line: This year there is an allocation of 39 crores for this. With this allocation, by March 2012, 220 crores is expected to be spent. This is out of a total estimated budget of 221 crores. In other words by 2012 March this will be basically done.
6. Khurda Rd – Delang: This year there is an allocation of 0.25 crores. It needs another 0.96 crores to complete the total estimated budget of 69.67 crores. So this is done.
7. Delang-Puri (28.7 km): This doubling was approved in 2010-11 with a total budget of  133.71 crores and an annual allocation of 2 crores. This year it has been given a budget of 35 crores. It needs another 96.71 crores before it is completed. That would mean that it will be done around in 2-3 more years. Odisha government may use the upcoming Nabakalebar in 2015 to get this done and operational before that.
8. Vizianagaram-Lanjigarh Rd-Titlagarh-Raipur: The maps show that Vizianagaram-Lanjigarh Rd is double line. For the Lanjigarh-Rd – Titlagarh segment, there is an allocation of 5 crores, and there is a need of another 0.8 crores tp take it to the total estimated budget of 171.4 crores. So basically the Lanjigarh-Rd – Titlagarh segment will be done by 2012 March. The 203 km Titlagarh -Raipur segment is just getting a start. The 2011-12 budget has a 60 crores allocation for this. But it needs another 629.16 crores for completion. The total estimated budget for this segment is 691.67 crores.
9. Jharsuguda-Rengali-Sambalpur: There is an allocation of 33.5 crores in this year’s budget for the Jharsuguda-Rengali segment. After that there is only a need of 7.48 crores to take it to the total estimate of 119.54 crores. So this segment will be almost done by March 2012.  There is an allocation of 20 crores in this year’s budget for the Rengali-Sambalpur segment. After that there is only a need of 0.6 crores to take it to the total estimate of 113.55 crores. So this segment will be basically done by March 2012. Together they will be almost done by March 2012.
10. Sambalpur-Titlagarh: This is in the initial phase. There is an allocation of 60 crores in the 2011-12 budget. By March 2011 only 39.73 crores would be spend on this. The total estimate of 950.84 crores.
11. Rajathgarh-Talcher-Sambalpur: Maps show that the Rajathgarh-Talcher segment is double line. Doubling of Talcher-Sambalpur was approved in 2010-11 with an initial allocation of 2 crores. This year there is an allocation of 66 crores. The total budget is 613.27 crores.
12. Bimlagarh-Champajharan-Dumetra (SER): There is a budget of 35 crores for Bimlagarh-Dumetra and another 35 crores for Champajharan-Bimlagarh. Based on the two entries in the budget, it seems the Champajharan-Dumetra part will be done by March 2012 and another 115.9 crores is need to complete the Bimlagarh-Champajharan part.
13. Jakhapura-Daitari-Tomka-Jaruli-Bansapani (ECOR/SER): Bansapani-Jaruli is listed in the SER budget and has an allocation of 35 crores for this year. It needs another 8.18 crores to reach the estimated total of 90.89 crores. ECOR budget lists the segment Bansapani-Tomka-Daitari-Jakhapura. It was initiated in 2010-11 with a budget of 150 crores of which only 29.57 seems to have been spent. Its budget for 2011-12 is 70 crores. It needs another 843.38 crores to reach its estimated total of 942.95 crores.
14. Bansapani-Padapahar Jn-Bara Jamda Jn-Barbil;  Raj kharswan-Padapahar Jn: Maps show that Rajkharswan-Padapahar Jn – Barajamda Jn is double line. The 2011-12 budget has 5 crores each for the two segments of Bansapani – Padapahar and Bara Jamda – Barbil. After that  Bansapani – Padapahar will reach its estimated total of 155.28 crores and Bara Jamda – Barbil would need 1.51 crores to reach its estimated total of 52.51 crores. So basically all these will be double lines by March 2012.

The total 2011-12 budget for doubling is 576.17 crores. See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3272 for how this budget compares to past budgets. See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3259 for an old projection to the future.

The above can be obtained by looking at the appropriate pages of this year’s pink book and last year’s pink book. Following are images cut from both.

From 2011-12 Pink book

Following are some observations based on the above:

1. Khurda Rd-Balangir: It seems 115.8 crores is expected to be spent on Khurda-Balangir line during March 2010-March 2011. This is close to the 120 crores that was allocated in the 2010-11 budget. So I am not sure why the budget was slashed to 60 crores. My guess is that last year they spent the money in building on the land they had already acquired. Now they need to acquire more new land to build and so until enough new land is acquired a lot of money could not be allocated for construction. The blame here lies with the railways for not anticipating in advance and not buying enough land in the previous years. The Odisha government should have also monitored this and prodded ECOR to buy enough land in advance. A bit of good news is that the budget speech explicitly mentions that Khurda Rd-Begunia will be completed this year.
2. Talcher-Bimlagarh: Last year the allocation was 50 crores. However, it is anticipated that 99.4-37.98= 61.42 crores will be spent on this during March 2010-March 2011. For the 2011-12 the allocation is 66 crores, and the budget speech explicitly mentions that some part of this line will be completed this year.
3. Angul – Sukinda: In 2010-11 the allocation was 22.5 crores, out of which only 12.7 crores is expected to be spent during March 2010-March 2011. For the 2011-12 the allocation is a substantial one consisting of 27 crores (RVN) plus 169.15 crores (PPP). It is not clear where the PPP money is coming from. If it is from the Odisha government or Odisha industries then railways should not take credit for it.
4. Haridaspur – Paradeep: In 2010-11 the allocation was 101 crores, out of which 79.6 cores (=251.2-171.6 ) is expected to be spent during March 2010-March 2011. For the 2011-12 the allocation is a substantial one consisting of 10 crores (RVN) plus 169.15 crores (PPP). It is not clear where the PPP money is coming from. If it is from the Odisha government or Odisha industries then railways should not take credit for it.
5. Daitari – Banspani: I am not sure what the deal here is. This line is supposed to be complete. I don’t know why there is a 70 crores budget for this.
6. Lanjigarh Rd – Junagarh: This line has an allocation of 10 crores and will be completed this year. Once that is done  Ispat Express should be extended to Lanjigarh Rd or Bhawnipatna and a Bhawniaptana – Bhubaneswar express should be introduced.

Now let us move to SER.

1. Jaleswar – Digha (41 kms): Last year 20 crores were allocated to it. But only 2 crores is expected to be spent during March 2010-March 2011. For the 2011-12 the allocation is a substantial one consisting of 150 crores. Also due to some modification in the plan the overall estimated cost has gone up from 255.11 crores to 533.63 crores. The modification includes a segment in West Bengal. It is not clear how much of the allocated 150 crores will be spent in the Odisha part and how much in the newly tagged on West Bengal part.

The overall new lines budget for 2011-12 is 733.4 crores. But if one takes out the PPP part then it is only 393 crores. And then, if the Jaleswar-Digha part is West Bengal centric and one takes 150 crores for it out then the total reduces to only 243 crores. Is Mamata Banerjee hoodwinking Odisha here?

See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3272 for how it compares with previous years budgets. See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/4638 for a tabular listing of the new line budget over the years. See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3202 for an old projection to the future.

This project was approved in 1993-1994 and since then very little progress has been made. In the 2010-11 railway budget, for the first time, there was a decent allocation of 120 crores towards this project.

Before the 2011-12 railway budget there were a lot of news that out of the allocated 120 crores 100 crores was returned due to non-utilization.

This seems to be a false news.

If one looks at the Pink Book at http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,304,366,539,1056 one can note that by the end of the 2010-11 outlay this project would have spent 211.65 crores. (See below. There seems to be some typo on the total amount needed for the project.)

In last year’s Pink Book  that number till the end of 2009-10 outlay was 105.8 crores. (See above.) In other words between 2010 March and 2011 March 221.65-105.8 = 115.85 crores would be spent. This is close to the 120 crores that was allocated.

So unless I am missing something, the politicians are spreading misinformation and actually harming the cause of the Khurda Balangir line. Instead of making false claims that 100 crores was returned (and only 20 crores was spent) and blaming the state and central government, they should have stated that 115.85 of the 120 crores was spent; and now that both the state government and ECOR have shown the ability to spend almost 120 crores in the project, at least a similar amount should be allocated in this year’s budget.

Instead, for petty political gains they spread the wrong news and the aam janta who does not know the truth will think if the authorities could only spend 20 crores out of the allocated 120 crores, then its perfectly justified for the Rail budget to have only 60 crores for the project this year.

Unfortunately, we have bad politicians and many spreaders of false news and that has time and again harmed Odisha’s cause.

Having said all that, the Railway Board knew that 115.85 crores of the alloted 120 crores was going to be spent by March 2011. They should not have reduced the allocations to 60 crores for this year.

Now following are some excerpts from a report in Expressbuzz.com. It shows the misinformation being spread.

In lieu of the return of last year’s Rs.100 crore, she has sanctioned Rs.60 crore. Last year, Rs.120 crore was allocated out of which, Rs.100 crore was reportedly returned due to non-utilisation.

An earlier report, linked in a kddf posting, hopefully, gives some useful information on the land acquisition status.

… from Khurda Road to Balangir will pass through 32 bridges including the longest one over river Tel, 403 minor bridges, 11 tunnels — the longest being 1400 meters, besides 124 level crossings and 17 stations.

Land acquisition sources said land in 13 out of the 16  villages on Balangir side have been acquired. Paucity of funds has however hampered land acquisition in the remaining three villages, said Ganeswar Kanhar, Land Acquisition Officer.In 2007, compensation for 64 acres of land was given in eight villages.

Since then only six more villages could be surveyed as the proposal for land acquisition was kept pending till the first quarter of 2010. While the civil work would be taken up only after acquisition of land for the 50 km track is complete,  till now nearly 35 km is yet to be acquired. Kanhar said 36 km of civil work has been started on  Khurda side.

See http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/finance_budget/RailBudget_11-12/RailBudget_2011-12.pdf for the budget speech.

See http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,304,366,539,1056 for the pink book.

The new trains, extensions and frequency increases that may have stops in Odisha are:

1. Sealdah – Puri non AC Duronto (tri-weekly) [From Feb 2012]
2. Vivek Express: Dibrugarh- Thiruvanthapuram-Kanniyakumari Express (weekly) via Kokrajhar [From Nov 2011]
3. Vivek Express: Howrah-Mangalore Express (Weekly) via Palghat [New connectivity] [From Feb 2012]
4. Kavi Guru Expres: Howrah-Porbander Express (weekly) [From Nov 2011]
5. Rajya Rani Express: Jharsuguda – Bhubaneswar Express (tri-weekly) [From Nov 2011]
6. Visakhapatnam- Koraput Intercity Express (5 days a week) via Vizianagram [Much needed] [From March 2012; but only 2 days a week]
7. Howrah-Secunderabad Express(weekly) via Kharagpur [From Feb 2012]
8. Hyderabad- Darbhanga Express (weekly) via Muri-Jharsuguda-Nagpur [New connectivity] [From July 7 2011]
9. Howrah – Tirupati Express (weekly) [Summer special, regular from July 2011]
10. Puri-Shalimar Express(weekly) [Summer special, regular from July 2011]
11. Ranchi- Pune Express (bi-weekly) via Bilaspur [From Nov 16 2011]
12. Shalimar-Udaipur Express(weekly) via Katni, Kota [via Rourkela; new conectivity] [From Feb 2012]
13. Howrah-Mysore Express (weekly) via Gondia [New connectivity] [From Feb 2012]
14. Digha-Visakhapatnam Express(weekly) [From Feb 2012]
15. Puri-Gandhidham Express(weekly) via Durg [New connectivity] [From Nov 2011]
16. Howrah-Visakhapatnam Express(weekly) [Summer special, regular from July 2011]
17. Digha-Puri Express (weekly) [From Feb 2012]
18. Kharagpur-Viluppuram Express (weekly) via Vellore [Increases connectivity] [From Feb 2012]
19. Purulia –Viluppuram Express (weekly) via Midnapore, Kharagpur, Vellore [Increases connectivity] [From April 13 2012]
    
20. Howrah-Nanded Express (weekly) [New connectivity] [From Feb 2012]
21. Kendujhargarh- Bhubaneswar Fast Passenger ( 5 days a week) [Much needed] [From Nov 2011]
22. Koraput- Bolangir-Sambalpur Passenger (daily) [Needed] [From March 2012]
23. Baripada-Bangariposi DEMU [New connectivity] [From Nov 2011]
24. Sambalpur- Nizamabad Express to Nanded (18309/18310) [New connectivity] [From July 1 2011]
25. Rourkela- Bhubaneswar Express from 6 days to daily (18105/18106) [Needed] [From July 1 2011]

* Update (Not in the budget): Jammu Tawi-Hatia Express extended to Rourkela. [From Nov 12 2011] [New connectivity, Needed]

* Update (Not in this year’s budget): Bhubaneswar – Baripada Express extended to Bangiriposi [From March 2012] [Needed]

The items in red are ones that appear interesting to me. The reason they are interesting to me are given in square brackets. In particular, the budget brings new connectivity (from Bhubaneswar) to Mangalore, Calicut, Gandhidham and Mysore; (from Rourkela & Sambalpur) to Nanded; (from Rourkela & Jharsuguda) to Mysore and many en-route stations (possibly Hyderabad); the much needed VSKP-Koraput intercity express; and new connectivity (from ROU and JSG) to Hyderabad.

Now we go over the budget speech and extract all Odisha related parts from it.

6.  … During this year, we have met industry leaders, Chambers of Commerce and Industry to encourage investment in the specified areas of infrastructure, rolling-stock or service provision. Railways will provide economic share to our partners for such endeavours. With this objective, railways have developed several business-oriented policies for the first time. Some of these policy initiatives are:-

• i. Railways’ Infrastructure for Industry Initiative (R3i)
• ii.    Private Freight Terminal (PFT)
• iii.    Special Freight Train Operators (SFTO)
• iv.    Automobile Freight Train Operators (AFTO)
• v.    Automobile and Ancillary Hubs
• vi.    Kisan Vision (Cold Chains) vii.    New Catering Policy viii. Rail Connectivity to Coal and Iron ore mines (R2CI)

13.    Railways are already executing works either departmentally or through PPP/JV at Budge Budge, Dankuni, Naopara, Anara, Tindharia, New Cooch Behar, Kharagpur, Haldia, Guwahati and Kazipet. Work on the wagon factory in Orissa will also be taken up once the site is finalized.

 25.    I propose to set up more mechanized laundries for improving the quality of linen in trains at Nagpur, Chandigarh and Bhopal, in addition to Wadibunder, Tikiyapara, Kamakhya, Secunderabad, Kacheguda, Indore, Lucknow, Banaras, Samastipur, Sealdah, Tatanagar, Danapur, Bikaner, Bilaspur, Durg, Hatia, Chennai, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, where they are commissioned or are being set up. Proposals for laundries at Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Gwalior, Manduadih, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, New Jalpaiguri, Jammu, Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Tirupati, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Hubli, Bengaluru, Yashwantpur, Jabalpur, Allahabad, Mau, Amethi and Kota are also under examination.

28.    Madam Speaker, we had added only 10,677 km of new lines since independence. I had announced an ambitious target of 1,000 km of new lines in 2010-11. This is in contrast to average addition of 180 km annually. In the current year, we may do over 700 km, falling short of the target. But this would be almost double of the highest ever performance in any single year. Unless we set our targets high, we cannot realize the goals of Vision 2020. The hon’ble members will be happy to know that railways will be achieving its target of 800 km for gauge conversion, 700 km for doubling and 1,000 km of electrification.

Annual Plan 2011-12

30.    Madam, the Annual Plan for the year 2011-12 has been proposed at `57,630 cr which is the highest ever plan investment by the railways in a single year. The Plan is proposed to be financed through GBS of `20,000 cr, diesel cess of `1041 cr, internal resources of `14,219 cr, market borrowings of `20,594 cr through Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), considering its past excellent performance in the financial market. Normally IRFC raises between `9,000-10,000 cr annually for leasing of rolling stock. Next year, an additional amount of `10,000 cr will be raised through tax free bonds for financing select capacity enhancement works. Railways will ensure servicing this debt of tax-free bonds. Further, external source of financing through PPP, WIS etc is expected to yield `1,776 cr.

33.    In the last budget I had announced updation of surveys for 114 socially desirable new lines. Out of this 94 will be completed by March, 2011 and the remaining by December, 2011. I propose to take up construction of these lines in the 12th five year plan since this budget year is the terminal year of the 11th plan. Our dream is to bring about a social revolution through rail connectivity. We need political freedom along with economic freedom that will usher in prosperity for our millions of countrymen, more especially to the common man.

34.    Madam, we have proposed to create a fund to implement the socially desirable projects during the 12th Plan. Under the umbrella of this non-lapsable fund, not only will the pending socially desirable lines be completed, but many other similar new line projects would also be taken up. The scheme is being named, Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana. I am extremely thankful to the hon’ble Prime Minister for his support and guidance.

36.    Railways are already executing 19 projects in the similar difficult and underdeveloped areas in the States of Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Maharashtra and I propose to increase the allocation to these projects to `771 cr.

45.    I am now making an offer that whichever state ensures trouble-free train running for the whole year, shall be given two new trains and two projects as a special package.

50.    Upgradation of stations would provide safe drinking water, pay & use toilets, high-level platforms, better accessibility for the physically challenged among many other facilities at these stations. I would like to assure all the hon’ble members that all the suggestion for Adarsh stations given by them have been included in the following list of 236 stations. I will be happy to receive suggestions from the hon’ble members to add more stations.
Abhaipur, Acharya Narendra Dev Nagar, Achhnera, Alipurduar court, Alipurduar Jn., Ambalgram, Ambernath, Ambikapur, Anara, Asoknagar Road, Azimganj Jn., Baghdogra, Bagula, Bahadurpur, Baharu, Bahirgachhi, Bahirpuya, Bahraich, Balagarh, Bala Mau, Balarambati, Balgona, Ballalpur, Bamangachhi, Bamangram Halt, Bamanhat, Banarhat, Baneswar, Banka pasi, Bankimnagar, Banstala, Barabhum, Baragaon, Barasat Jn., Barhni, Barmer, Barsoi Jn., Basudevpur, Basuldanga, Batasi, Bathnakrittiba, Belakoba, Beldanga, Beliaghata Rd, Beliatore, Betberia ghola, Bhadaiyan, Bhadrak, Bhagalpur, Bhagwangola, Bharwari, Bhimgarh, Bidyadharpur, Bishnupur, Boinchi, Brindabanpur, Buniyadpur, Burnpur, Chanchai, Chamagram, Champa, Chandanpur, Chatra, Chatterhat, Chengannur, Chintamani, Chirimiri, Chitrakut Dham Karvi, Chowrigacha, Churu, Dainhat, Darjeeling, Daryabad, Dasnagar, Deoria Sadar, Deulti, Dhatrigram, Dhubulia, Dhulabari, Dildarnagar, Diva, Dubrajpur, Dumurdaha, Durgachak, Eklakhi, Ettumanur, Falakata, Fatehpur, Fatehpur Sikri, Gadadharpur, Gandhigram, Ghanpur, Ghoksadanga, Ghoragata, Ghum, Gidhni, Gobra, Guntur, Gurap, Harishdadpur, Harishchandrapur, Hasimara, Hindmotor, Hotar, Hridaypur, Hubli, Jabalpur, Jaganath Temple, Gate, Jakhalabandha, Jalor, Jamikunta, Janai road, Jangaon, Jessore road, Jhantipahari, Jodhpur, Jorhat Town, Joychandipahar, Kahalgaon, Kaikala, Kalchini, Kalinagar, Kaliyaganj, Kamakhyaguri, Kamareddi, Kanjiramittam, Kanthi, Karimnagar, Kathgodam, Kathua, Khagraghat Rd., Khajuraho, Khalilabad, Khemasuli, Khurja Jn., Kiraoli, Kishanganj, Kolar, Korba, Kotshila, Kulpi, Kumbakonam, Kunda Harnam Ganj, Kurukshetra, Kuruppantara, Labpur, Lohapur, Loknath, Lower Parel, Madarihat, Madhusudanpur, Majhdia, Malatipur, Malda Court, Malkajgiri, Manendragarh, Manigram, Maninagar, Mararikulam, Matigara, Mayiladuturai, Meerut City, Meghnagar, Mollarpur, Mulanturutti, Murarai, Nabadwip Ghat, Nabagram, Nagore, Nagrakata, Naimisharanya, Nandakumar, Narendrapur, Navsari, New Alipurduar, New Bhuj, New Cooch Behar, Old Malda, Palla road, Palsit, Panagarh, Pandaveswar, Panjipara, Patranga, Patuli, Phusro, Piravam Road, Pirtala, Prantik, Quilandi, Raghunathpalli, Raigarh, Raipur, Rajbandh, Rajgoda, Rajnandgaon, Ramrajatala, Rangiya, Ratangarh, Remount road, Rudauli, Rupnarayanpur, Sabarmati, Sadulpur, Sagardighi, Sakoti Tanda, Salanpur, Salboni, Salem, Sambre, Sankrail, Santaldih, Sardiha, Sasthankotta, Satna, Shahganj, Shalimar, Sidlaghatta, Simlagarh, Sirathu, Sitapur Cantt., Sivok, Sohawal, Sonada, Srinivaspura, Sukna, Sultanpur, Talit, Thanabihpur, Tildanga, Tiruppur, Tuticorin, Udhna, Vaikam Road, Vasco-da-gama, Vellarakkad.

52.    Out of the 160 MFCs announced, a few are completed and few are in the process of completion. I have given a special target to complete all the MFCs next year. I propose to set up more MFCs with budget hotels at Bangarpet, Secunderabad,    Amethi,    Ramnagar,    Ajmer,    Chandigarh,    Amritsar, Thiruvananthapuram, Kamakhya, Gaya, Rae Bareli, Deoghar, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Vellore, Kanyakumari, Srinagar, Sasaram, Bhagalpur, Panipat, Bhuj, Anand, Arsikere, Birur, Neemach, Ratlam, Azamgarh, Ujjain, Adra, Midnapore, Tamluk, Purulia, Thakurnagar, Sagardighi, Jangipur, Bahrampur, Nabadwip, Kulti, Bolapur, Diamond Harbour, Naihati, Kanchrapara, Hajipur, Islampur and Rohtak.

Golden Rail Corridor

55.    Madam, I am happy to announce that pre-feasibility study for the western leg (Delhi-Mumbai) of the Golden Rail Corridor would start early next year. The study is being undertaken with help from Japan, with the objective of raising speed of passenger trains to 160-200 kmph. Similar studies will be initiated for other corridors including Mumbai-Kolkata, Chennai-Bangalore, Delhi-Jaipur and Ahmedabad-Mumbai.

95.    In my last budget speech, 33 new line sections covering 1,021 km were identified for completion as compared to less than 200 km normally. I am happy to inform the House that we have taken a giant leap in completion of new lines projects. The progress of laying new lines will be further accelerated and in the year 2011-12, we are confident of exceeding a milestone of laying of 1,000 km of new lines. The sections which have either been completed or will be completed during 2010-11 are:-

• Bhawanipatna-Junagarh
• Khurda Road – Begunia

97.    The target for Doubling was fixed as 700 km for the year 2010-11 and I am happy to inform the august House that this target will be met. Sections which have either been completed or will be completed during 2010-11 are as under:-

• Barbil-Barajamda doubling

98.    The new lines sections covering 1,075 km proposed to be completed in 2011-12 are:-

• Part of Talcher-Bimalgarh

100. The following sections covering 867 km are proposed to be doubled in 2011-12 are as under:-

• Jharsuguda-Rengali
• Banspani-Jaroli

101. In the last two budgets, I had announced 251 updating surveys/new surveys for new lines/gauge conversion/doubling. Of these, the following 190 surveys have been completed or will be completed by the end of this financial year. These lines will also be taken up in the 12th Plan:-

• Raipur-Jharsuguda
• Barajamda-Tatina
• Gunupur-Theruvali
• Puri-Konark
• Sambalpur-Behrampur
• Jeypore-Malkangiri
• Navrangpur-Jeypore
• Banspani-Bimalgarh-Barsuan
• Digha-Jaleswar-Puri
• Bolangir-Nawapada

Rail Tourism

102. We have planned for rail business with Ministry of Tourism. If successful this year, we will expand the partnership. To improve look of twenty railway stations and its approaches, the cost will be shared on 50:50 basis. The stations are Hyderabad, Hospet, Agra, Rae Bareli, Belur, Varanasi, Kamakhya, Haridwar, Dooars, Gaya, Madurai, Tarapith, Thiruvananthapuram, Furfura Sharief, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Nanded, Puri, Tarakeshwar, Rameshwaram, Tirupati, Guwahati, Jaipur and Ajmer.

NEW SERVICES

Duronto trains
109.    The following new Duronto trains are proposed to be introduced:

iii.    Sealdah – Puri non AC Duronto (tri-weekly)

Vivek Express
113.    To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda which will be celebrated in 2013, I propose to introduce new trains called “Vivek Express”.

i.    Dibrugarh- Thiruvanthapuram-Kanniyakumari Express (weekly) via Kokrajhar
iii.    Howrah-Mangalore Express (Weekly) via Palghat

Rajya Rani Express
115.    I propose to introduce a new set of trains connecting state capitals with important cities/towns in those states:

ix.    Jharsuguda – Bhubaneswar Express (tri-weekly)

Express trains
117.    I propose to introduce following new express trains:

7.    Visakhapatnam- Koraput Intercity Express (5 days a week) via Vizianagram

8.    Howrah-Secunderabad Express(weekly) via Kharagpur

12.    Hyderabad- Darbhanga Express (weekly) via Muri-Jharsuguda-Nagpur

13.    Howrah – Tirupati Express (weekly)

15.    Puri-Shalimar Express(weekly)

16.    Ranchi- Pune Express (bi-weekly) via Bilaspur

20.    Howrah-Mysore Express (weekly) via Gondia

22.    Digha-Visakhapatnam Express(weekly)

35.    Puri-Gandhidham Express(weekly) via Durg

36.    Howrah-Visakhapatnam Express(weekly)

41.    Digha-Puri Express (weekly)

43.    Kharagpur-Viluppuram Express (weekly) via Vellore

45.    Purulia –Viluppuram Express (weekly) via Midnapore, Kharagpur, Vellore

55.    Howrah-Nanded Express (weekly)

Passenger services

118.    The following new passenger services will be introduced:

2.    Kendujhargarh- Bhubaneswar Fast Passenger ( 5 days a week)

3.    Koraput- Bolangir-Sambalpur Passenger (daily)

DEMU

119.    Following new DEMU services will be introduced:

19.    Baripada-Bangariposi

Extension of trains:

121.    The run of the following trains will be extended:

14. Sambalpur- Nizamabad Express to Nanded (18309/18310)

Increase in frequency of trains

122.    The frequency of the following trains will be increased:

7.    Rourkela- Bhubaneswar Express from 6 days to daily (18105/18106)

New Line Surveys

128. On the basis of requests received from the hon’ble members, state governments and others, the following surveys are proposed to be taken up in 2011-12:-

42    Paradip Port – Dhamara Port
43    Bhadrachalam – Kharagpur through Koraput-Talcher-Baripada

Railway Electrification

131.    The hon’ble members will be happy to know that railways would exceed the original XI Plan target of 3,500 route-km of electrification. In 2011-12, the following sections covering around 1,000 km are proposed to be electrified:-

i. Vizianagaram-Rayagada-Titlagarh-Raipur

Following is from a report in Pioneer.

East Coast Railway (ECoR) GM Arvind Kumar Vohra …

He informed about the achievements made by the ECoR during the last three quarters both at the freight and passenger fronts. During the period, ECoR has earned `6140.72 crore, 19.77 per cent more than the corresponding period of last year.

It has carried 79.98 MT of freight traffic, 4.91 per cent more as compared to the corresponding period of last year while 59.13 million passengers have been carried which is 12.03 per cent more than the corresponding period of last year.

The above is only about the earnings and not about profits. There is no data on that yet. However, Indian Railways as a whole has reduced earnings and may make a loss the last year. Following is from a report in Indian Express.

The Indian Railways’ great “turnaround story”, which was making waves in business schools till a few months back, now appears headed towards an ignominious end. A sharp decline in earnings and a serious escalation in expenditures are threatening to push India’s transport behemoth to near-bankruptcy.

… the Railways now has a net deficit of around Rs 2,500 crore. “While our expenditure has gone up by almost Rs 1,330 crore, our earnings are down by Rs 1,142 crore,” says a Railway Board official.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

In the run up to the Railway Budget for 2011-12, the Orissa government has requested the Ministry of Railways to sanction Rs 2085 crore for the state in the current financial year …

The state government has sought Rs 350 crore for the Khurda Road-Bolangir rail link (289 km), Rs 250 crore for the Paradeep-Haridaspur rail link (82 km), Rs 150 crore each for the Angul-Duburi-Sukinda Road rail line (90 km) and Talcher-Bimalagarh (154 km) rail line and Rs 60 crore for the Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh rail link (56 km).

For gauge conversion, the state has sought Rs 20 crore for the 89-km Rupsa-Bangriposi and Rs 30 crore for the 90-km Nuapada-Gunupur.

Similarly, for doubling projects, the state government has requested the Ministry of Railways to allot Rs 760 crore. Presently, 20 doubling projects are under execution in order to further augment line capacity. Allocation of funds for the second bridge on Kathajori and Kauakhai and Haridaspur-Jakhapura (third line) needs to be sharply increased.

The proposals for new doubling include Rayagada-Koraput rail link and patch doubling of Kottavalasa-Kirandul line. The state government has requested the Ministry of Railways to sanction doubling of this rail link which connects the port city of Visakhapatanam with the iron ore rich area of Kirandul.

For undertaking new electrification works, the state has sought Rs 100 crore from the Ministry of Railways in 2011-12. It has also requested the ministry to sanction funds for the development of multi modal logistics parks and container freight stations at Kalinga Nagar, Angul, Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Choudwar.

The Railways ministry has been requested to sanction some new rail links in 2011-12. These include Rupsa-Burhamura-Chakulia (35 km), Nuapada-Gunupur-Theruvali (79 km), Banspani-Barbil (15 km), Bhadrachalam Raod-Malkangiri-Jeypore-Junagarh-Lanjigarh Road-Talcher-Bimlagarh, Bargarh-Nuapada via Padampur (120 km), Talcher-Gopalpur (245 km), Puri-Konark (35 km), Rupsa-Bangriposi-Gorumahisani (35 km), Badampahar-Keonjhar (70 km), Berhampur-Phulbani (169.8 km) and Khurda Road-Rajathgarh (59 km).

The Orissa government has proposed to set up a dedicated industrial corridor in the Meramandali-Angul-Talcher-Chhendipada belt linking the coal mines, power generating units and steel plants.

This proposed corridor, to be co-habited by multiple users, is estimated to cost Rs 2192 crore. The state government has requested the Railways ministry to finalize the policy to construct such dedicated rail corridors in coal and mineral bearing areas.

The state has also given proposal for introduction of 16 new trains. This includes Duronto type super fast trains between Bhubaneswar-Mumbai, Puri-jaipur, Bhubaneswar-Pune, Bhubaneswar-Bangalore and Puri-Surat. It has also presented proposal for introduction of a super fast express between Visakhapatanam and Allahabad, express train between Koraput and Visakhapatanam, express train from Titlagarh to Bhubaneswar via Rayagada, express train from Keonjhar to Howrah, express train from Barbil to Visakhaptanam, super fast express from Rourkela to New Delhi, inter-city express between Puri and Tata via Keonjhar, express train between Berhampur and Rourkela, direct train between Bhubaneswar and Kalka, express train service between Jagdalpur and Kolkata, inter-city express between Berhampur and Puri and passenger train services between Barbil and Puri as well as from Rayagada to Bolangir.

Moreover, the state has sought Rs 25 crore for five new coaching terminals and Rs 50 crore for seven ‘Adarsh’ stations (model stations) and two multi-functional complexes.

The above numbers are in Crores of Rupees. In the above "C" denotes Capital, "F" denotes Capital Fund and "R" denotes RVNL funding. The notation ** above means that data is missing.

Now lets do a projection to the future.