Faced with requirement of mammoth resources for expansion, the railways will need to involve the private sector, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
The Indian Railways will flag off 117 new trains as planned.The Railways will also introduce 52 new trains in FY11.
Railway minister promises jobs for land deals for the project.
The Indian Railways will launch 56 new trains, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
The Indian Railways lost about 40 per cent of its business due to disturbance including Maoist violence and agitations.
Opposition parties in India have demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after a stampede at New Delhi railway station killed 18 people. They blamed the government for "gross mismanagement" and accused them of "covering up" the death toll. The stampede occurred on Saturday night as passengers rushed to board trains for the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj. The Congress, the Left, Trinamool Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have all criticized the government's handling of the situation, while BJP leaders have defended the government. The incident has highlighted the failure of the Railways and the government to make adequate arrangements for the large number of devotees travelling to Prayagraj.
Presenting the Railway Budget on Friday in the Parliament, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee proposed an outlay of Rs 40,745 crore for 2009-2010, which is 2,840 crore more than the allocation proposed in the interim budget.
Senior railway officials feel this interest of the international community came after Banerjee unveiled policies to seek private investment in rail projects.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday welcomed Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's announcement that there was no move to privatise the railway sector.
Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee called for peace in Lalgarh in West Bengal during her rally at the Maoist-infested region on Monday.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to present a populist Railway Budget on February 24, leaving passenger fares untouched but rationalising the freight rates keeping the essential commodities aside.
The Railway Budget 2010 presented to Parliament on Wednesday by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been received with glee by most people.
The opposition parties, the BJP and CPI-M on Thursday dubbed the Railway Budget "imaginary" and "document of dreams" as there was no allocation for completion of various railway proposals in it.
The state government had earlier proposed to construct a mega power plant in Singur with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, but BHEL had expressed its inability for the same. Though the Singur site was with the Tatas, its group chairman Ratan Tata had earlier said he did not want to sit on the land and could give it back if the company was compensated for the investment it had made.
One of the cars in the convoy of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee was on Monday night hit by a lorry coming from opposite direction at Kolaghat in East Midnapore district causing minor injuries to her body guard.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has ensured that her two junior ministers have an equal amount of work and equal responsibilities. She has entrusted them with seven states each. While Minister of State E Ahamed will look after Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Assam and Jharkhand, the other MoS K H Muniayappa has been allocated Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
A professor of chemistry of the Jadavpur University was arrested on Friday along with his neighbour for allegedly posting a cartoon on a popular social networking site involving West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Railway Minister Mukul Roy and former Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi. He was later released on bail.
Fund balances for the current financial year have already been revised downwards by the ministry from the budgeted Rs 5,062 crore to Rs 3,100 crore.
All the Indian Railways' zones have been instructed to ensure availability of Janata Khana. A comprehensive policy, including strict monitoring mechanisms, would be developed soon for achieving these objectives.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is often accused of being parochial -- she has, on many occasions, been blamed for being tilted in favour of her home state of West Bengal, at least as far as railway projects are concerned.
The full page advertisement that claims that Mamata was wearing rubber slippers manufactured by Ajanta Company, was published in June 21 edition in Sambad Pratidin, a Kolkata-based Bengali newspaper.
Freight corridor project slipping, needs supervision revamp, says Plan panel.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee should focus more on safety of passengers and development of infrastructure instead of launching new projects "every now and then", the CPI (M) said.
Lok Janashakti Party chief Ramvilas Paswan on Sunday described West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as an "unpredictable" leader, who was humiliating the Railway Minister publicly apparently to slight the United Progressive Alliance government.
Former railway minister and Mamata Banerjee described the Interim Railway Budget for 2009-10 as 'election-oriented' and an eyewash to secure votes.
The invitation was extended by Sir Richard Stagg when he called on Mamata Banerjee at the Rail Bhawan on Thursday.
Dismissing West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's criticism of Duronto Express, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said the importance and success of the train cannot be diminished.
Though a host of pro-public announcements made by her in the last Railway Budget (2010-11) has been implemented, Indian Railways' finances have gone from bad to worse.
Banerjee wants the two top leaders of the United Progressive Alliance to nudge the Planning Commission into including some of her most important initiatives in the Railway Budget.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that her ministry would clear the backlog of two lakh vacancies countrywide within six months and the process was already on for class III posts.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has been invited by China to attend an international conference on high-speed rail system.
Although a detailed blueprint is yet to be created, sources familiar with thedevelopments said companies would initially be roped in to augment the basic rail infrastructure in industrial areas such as mining zones.
Among the proposals considered today includes a project to construct a railway link between Rohanpur and Singhabad to facilitate transit traffic from Bangladesh to Nepal through India. Railway ministry sources indicated that the ministry had no objections to opening the additional transit route to Bangladesh.
With strike by Air India executive pilots leading to cancellation of several flights, the railways are arranging special trains for stranded passengers.
"The running of Bharat Teerth is to emphasise our unity in diversity and bring to reality Kabiguru's (Rabindranath Tagore) words in our national anthem Punjab Sindhu Gujarat Maratha, Dravida Utkala Banga, Vindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga," railway minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Indian Railways said it would rope in home-grown talent to develop world-class stations as foreign consultants were charging exorbitant fees.
Countering Communist Party of India-Marxist's allegations that she had made Railways bankrupt, she said, "Their government (in West Bengal) is bankrupt. It has Rs 2 lakh crore (Rs 2 trillion) debt. Charity begins at home."
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee presented the Railway Budget on Friday. In her third Railway Budget speech, Banerjee said atleast one doctor will be available on long distance trains.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday ordered an enquiry into the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station which claimed two lives and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee attributed her party's abstention from voting on the Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha to a "communication gap" and said she was committed to the Constitutional amendment.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances