Rail Budget 2013

• No further hike in train reservation, cancellation charges: Pawan Bansal

  Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal made it clear on Friday that there will be no further hike in the near future in reservation or cancellation charges, though cross subsidy from freight to passenger segment has touched Rs 25,000 crore.

• Pawan Bansal hints at further hike in railway booking and cancellation surcharge

  Justifying a recent hike in charges on various counts, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday hinted at further increase in surcharge on bookings and cancellations for balanced development of the country's largest transporter which has "limited resources".

• Budget 2013: Armed forces get over Rs 33,000 crore to buy aircraft, aero-engines

  With the defence forces planning to finalise major deals such as the one for 126 Rafale combat aircraft, the government has earmarked more than Rs 33,000 crore for acquiring aircraft and aero-engines from the Rs 86,000 crore modernisation Budget for the forces.

• Freight rate hike to have adverse impact on steel industry: Rashtriya Ispat

  State-run steel maker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam on Wednesday said Railways need to take a re-look at the proposed freight rate hike as it will have an adverse impact on the steel industry.

• Rail Budget 2013: Government plans five more rail freight corridors

  The government is planning to build five new dedicated freight corridors connecting cities in different parts of the country to enhance Railways' transportation capacity.

• Rail Budget 2013: Cement may get costlier following freight rate hike

  Cement may get costlier by Rs 7 per bag of 50 kg because of the hike in freight rate by 5.79 per cent in Railway Budget on Tuesday, but manufacturers of the building material said a final call will be taken after the Union Budget.

• Lounge in Bangalore, new Mangalore train, rail projects for Karnataka

  Proposed introduction of Bangalore-Mangalore Express (Weekly), opening of an executive lounge in Bangalore and resumption of work on Chickmagalur-Sakleshpur and Bangalore-Satyamangalam new line projects are some of the key highlights of Railway budget as far as Karnataka is concerned.

• Rail Budget 2013: Pawan Bansal rules out rollback of hike in supplementary charges

  Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday ruled out rollback of the proposed hike in reservation charges in superfast trains.

• Soon, Railway passengers can get travel information through SMS, phone calls

  Railway passengers on-board will soon be able to get information about their travel besides having free access to Internet facilities.

• Rail Budget 2013: Supplementary charges will indirectly increase fare charge, says Naveen Patnaik

  Terming the Rail Budget as a "big disappointment", Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said the proposal for supplementary charges will indirectly increase the passenger fare.

• Rail Budget 2013: Iron ore export ban hits Railways freight earnings

  Ban on iron ore exports from Karnataka and Goa has significantly impacted Indian Railways' freight revenue from the segment, and it has projected just about 3.77 per cent growth in income from the movement of the mineral in 2013-14.

• Railways to borrow Rs 15,103 crore in current fiscal year

  The railways will borrow Rs 15,103 crore from the market in 2013-14, marginally higher than Rs 15,000 crore borrowings in the current financial year. The estimated market borrowing would help the railways to finance its highest ever plan outlay of Rs 63,363 crore.

• Rail Budget 2013: Freight rate hike may push up steel prices by up to 8 per cent

  Steel prices may go up by 5-8 per cent from April due to 5.8 per cent increase in rail freight charges on the movement of iron ore as well as finished steel.

• Rail Budget 2013: Freight rate hike to cost SAIL Rs 300 crore annually

  State-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) on Tuesday said it will have to annually bear an additional cost of Rs 300 crore due to the hike in railway freight rates.

• Railways to go green with own power company

  Railways, a bulk consumer of energy, today proposed to set up a Railway Energy Management Company shortly to bring efficiency in energy consumption and help in power purchases. At present, Railways foots a bill of Rs 9000 crore in electric consumption.