The option of imposing a fuel adjustment cost over and above the rail ticket price is also said to be high on the mind of the railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, sources said.
Ahead of presenting the Rail Budget, Mr Bansal had called on UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in an indication that another project could be in the offing for her parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli.
Also, the minister in tune with the practice, is likely to unveil a number of new trains, including Rajdhanis and Shatabdis. While the Delhi-Mumbai stretch is likely to get another Rajdhani, Ludhiana could get connected with Delhi with a pair of Shatabdi trains. The minister is also likely to speed up trains by going ahead for induction of electrical multiple units (EMU)-powered trains on long distance for Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Durontos so that they clock speed in the range of 130 kmph to 200 kmph.
While the high speed rail corridor (bullet trains) may just find a mention without any financial outlay, the minister could spell out a roadmap for the completion of dedicated freight corridor and its further expansion in other parts of the country.
Mr Bansal is also likely to stress on partnership with the state governments in further expansion of the railway networks.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/content/patralekha-chatterjee
