Railway minister Lalu Prasad's dream to have bullet trains a la Japan in India is at last kicking off the ground.
With around 85,000 road accident deaths every year, the ministry for road transport and highways is considering a proposal to set up a Commissionerate for Safety.
Road ministry proposes an amendment to Motor Vehicles Act.
Railways initiate project for ad revenues of Rs 4,000 cr.
The Railway Board issued a notification a few months ago under which divisional regional managers of certain zones were given financial powers to levy a surcharge from passengers who insist on seeking reservation for lower berths.
A consultant is being appointed to work out the details of the project.
The railways in India may be in the middle of a financial turnaround but China's railway system is still far ahead on most key parameters.
Railway Board Chairman JP Batra, Railway Board Financial Commissioner R Sivadasan and Officer on Special Duty Sudhir Kumar burn midnight oil and help in giving shape to Lalu's vision.
The Re 1 cut in diesel prices could lead Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to announce a reduction in passenger fares in the forthcoming Railway Budget.
Free rides on toll roads for the country's VIPs might soon be over. The government is coming up with a new toll policy which might prune the long exemption list of VIPs who do not have to pay toll on national highways.
Rlys plan 50 garib raths, 450 AC trains; SPVs planned for wagon manufacture for freight corridors.
National highways in remote areas, intermediate and single roads are all set to be two laned, with the government having identified 5,000-km of such roads for upgradation.
A railway ministry official told Business Standard that the major part of this would go into expanding ticketing facilities, with the aim of taking it to the passenger's doorstep.
The move is line with the railway ministry's efforts to compete with low-cost airlines.
In what could be a shot in the arm for the National Highway Development Programme, the National Highway Authority of India is all set to receive a windfall of Rs 471 crore
The next fiscal may see ticket checkers in trains armed with a hand-held device, which would provide information about the exact occupancy status of a particular train in advance to all forthcoming stations on its route.
After its forays into e-ticketing and hospitality, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has tied up with travel major Cox & Kings for offering tour packages
At the moment Concor, a public sector company controlled by the railways, has a monopoly in running container trains across the country. It offers ferrying rates to carry containers that are one-third of that on roads.
India's retail giants, including Kishore Biyani's Future Group, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail and Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti group, have started negotiations with the railways for leasing land for retail development.
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