Railway Budget 2022: On February 1, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her fourth budget. The present central government had included the railway budget in the general budget (Budget 2022) in its first term itself. Now money for railways is also given from this budget. According to the information, this time the central government is going to increase the railway budget. It is expected that the government will increase the budget of the railways by 15 to 20 percent.
Possibility of announcement of new rail facilities
Before the budget, there is an atmosphere of enthusiasm in many sectors related to railways. Many types of demands are also being made by the railway passengers. In this Railway Budget 2022 to be presented before the elections of five states, the central government can announce new railway facilities related to common passengers. However, the Railways has incurred a loss of Rs 26 thousand 338 crore in the last one year, whereas last year the Central Government had allocated a record Rs 1,10,055 crore for the Railways. This time the railway budget is expected to be around 2.5 lakh crore rupees.
Less likely to increase rail fare
Despite the losses incurred by the Railways during the Kovid epidemic, experts believe that there is little chance of increasing the rail fare in the budget this year. Railways is considering whatever measures it will take to increase its earnings, except for increasing the fare. During the Covid period, most of the earnings of the Railways came from freight. That’s why it is the effort of the Railways that many different corridors should be prepared for this. This will also reduce the pressure on passenger trains.
Announcement of bullet train between New Delhi and Varanasi is possible
In the Rail Budget, about ten new light trains (with aluminum ones) can be announced for long distance travel. Plans are being made to strengthen the rail connectivity of the election states and metro cities. For these, the government can involve some private companies. Bullet train can also be announced between New Delhi to Varanasi. Significantly, the work of the first bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is already going on.
Expected development of solar capacity in railways
Solar capacity will be developed in Indian Railways to reduce dependence on electricity and diesel, as well as to reduce carbon emissions. Along with this, the target of 100% electrification by 2030 is likely to be declared in the National Rail Plan. Redevelopment projects can be announced for the betterment of stations through PPP model. For this 12 corridors have been identified. Many companies had shown interest in this.
Rail Development Authority likely to announce
This year, the government may also announce the formation of a Rail Development Authority, which will advise the government on fare issues. Plans are to be implemented for development of more projects like Tejas to connect various tourist destinations across the country. An announcement will be made to increase the Dedicated Freight Corridor rapidly. Under this, the East-West Corridor from Bhusaval to Dankuni via Kharagpur and the North-South Corridor starting from Itarsi to Vijayawada has already been announced.
Efforts to make Indian Railways 100% green rail service
During the announcement of the last rail budget, the Finance Minister had also announced the National Rail Plan 2030. Under this scheme, a plan has been prepared for the development of railways. In this, it was announced to give a new look to the railway facilities. For this, the Center had talked about investing one lakh crore. By December 2023, 100 percent electrification of the major railway line will be completed. Similarly, metro rail system is being prepared in two Tier-2 category cities and outskirts of Tier-1 category cities, under which Indian Railways will become the world’s first 100 percent green rail service by 2030.
Expected to announce the adoption of Hyperloop technology
Along with this, the central government can announce the adoption of hyperloop technology in the rail budget this time. In this, pods carrying passengers are made to travel through tubes or tunnels. This technology is faster than bullet train. The government can make big announcements regarding infrastructure in the budget. Redevelopment of 500 railway stations can be announced in this budget, which can be named as rejuvenation by the government.
