70 lakh hopes pinned on rail budget

Expect improvements to the harbour line, more 15-car trains and funds for projects that fall under the third phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) in the Union Railway Budget 2012-13 to be presented in the Parliament on Wednesday.
Funds for the MUTP-II, including procurement of Mumbai Bombardier local trains, and financial closure of Phase-I of the project are also expected.

While the Central Railway and Western Railway collectively earn Rs1,000-1,200 crore per year, more than double the amount is usually allocated to Mumbai, including for the on-going MUTP, in the railway budget, said a senior railway official.

If the ministry gives the green light to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s proposal to levy surcharge on MUTP-I, the 70 lakh railway commuters in Mumbai can expect a minor hike in suburban train fare.

“The Rs4,500-crore MUTP-I has been completed. The Indian Railways and Maharashtra government had taken a loan of around Rs1,650 crore to fund the project, which was to be repaid at 8% rate and a surcharge was to be levied on tickets every three years which would have garnered Rs240 crore. The first surcharge was to be levied in 2003, the second in 2006 and the third in 2009. But, till date, not a single surcharge has been levied,’’ another railway official said.

A recent comparative study by former railway board chairman Vivek Sahai has revealed that the Mumbai’s suburban railway fare 7paise per km is probably the lowest in the world.