The passenger fares too, since long subsidized at the cost of freight charges, are expected to be hiked to make the Railways commercially more viable. As many as a dozen new trains are expected to be announced with the minister's politically unstable state, Bihar, getting a fair share. Apart from West Bengal and Bihar, the southern states are also expected to get a few new trains, sources in the ministry said.

Rail Bhavan witnessed hectic activity on the eve of the budget presentation with officials concerned literally locked inside their rooms to ward off last-minute pressures and demands. The Ministry of Railways had received demands from Members of Parliament for starting as many as 500 new trains, introducing 600 additional stoppages and 200 route extensions of already running trains.

However,neither does the Railways have the resources to fulfill more than a fraction of the demand, nor are its officers keen on it. In fact, the Federation of Railway Officers' Association (FROA) -- comprising senior Railway Board officials -- resolved at their general body meeting on February 12 to put an immediate ban on introduction of new trains.In a strongly worded resolution, the railway officers said that the system was already saturated and there was no point in overloading it further. They added that the existing trains should be augmented and run to full capacity for which there was tremendous scope.

``The emphasis must be placed on consolidation of the existing system by way of renewal of overdue track, replacement of over-aged rolling stock and obsolete signalling equipment. Till such time as the existing system is not made totally safe for the travelling public, all available resources must be diverted to the above items and there should be an immediate stop to construction of new lines, gaugeconversion projects and electrification of unremunerative lines,'' stated Indra Ghosh, Executive Director (safety), who signed the resolution.

The officers suggested various ways in which the limited resources could be channelised better. They said that there should be an immediate stop on creation of new zones and divisions which was being done on political considerations. This was causing great damage to railways' operational capacity.

Creation of a new zone costs railways Rs 400 cr and each division involves a capital expenditure of Rs 15 cr in addition to the annual recurring expenditure.

``The wasteful expenditure does not add even a single seat by way of passenger capacity or even one wagon in terms of freight capacity. The country cannot afford this colossal waste. The newly created zones should be closed,'' the officers said.