IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi has lauded the Union Railway Budget presented Thursday by the Minister Suresh Prabhu and called it futuristic. He tweeted” Congratulations @sureshpprabhu Ji for presenting a futuristic & quite balanced, #RailBudget2016, ensuring Rejuvenation of #Indian #railways”.
Awasthi also appreciated efforts to serve the poor as neither passenger nor freight rates have been increased. MD tweeted” @sureshpprabhu Ji #RailBudget2016 shows commitment to serving poor. Sply NorthEast connectivity & Launch of unreserved trains @narendramodi.”
With mixed reactions pouring in on budget from different parts of the country Anant Kumar the Chemical and Fertilzer Minister said “ my colleague Shri Suresh Prabhu has taken the commitment of the Government forward to put the Railways in Mission mode. I congratulate the Railway Minister for presenting a commitment of delivery oriented budget rather than a budget full of promises which remain unfulfilled. “
The Railways are the lifeline of the country and the most preferred mode of transport for the all classes of Society. Being the oldest and the largest railroad network in the world, ferrying some 23 million people and also 2.65 million tonnes of goods on its coaches, each day, the railways is performing a gigantic task by serving a huge network of 7,172 stations via 12,617 passenger and 7,421 freight trains on a track network spanning Baramulla in the Himalayan foothills of Kashmir to the southern tip of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, and from Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh to the port town of Okha in Gujarat.
Some of the measures introduced by the Minister which have become talking points include bio-vacuum toilets, setting up of 1st Rail Auto Hub, commencement of wi-fi system etc.