Kolkata Metro, though autonomous, is still not an independent zone. It will be made one. By 2011, there will be a clear plan for connecting Sikkim, Arunachal and Meghalaya by rail and rail links with Bangladesh and Nepal will also be energised. I introduced 19 new trains in 2000-01. With India having progressed since then, 29 new trains are being introduced in 2009-10. The list is appended in the budget papers. But I want to flag off Kolkata-Medinipur and Kolkata-Puruliya “Vidrohi” Expresses and tourist-centred Nandigram (it will run up to Mograjpur) Express, to be run by IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation), which I had originally conceived. On freight, correcting my predecessor’s biases, the eastern freight corridor will now extend to Sealdah. The turnaround time for freight wagons will be reduced to four days and every feeder line will be electrified. Each train will now carry 76 wagons. Load limits on freight wagons are being increased by an additional 10 per cent. Freight is being increased by 10 per cent for bulk goods like coal, cement, food-grains and iron ore, but not non-bulk items, where we compete with trucks.

With the government’s stimulus packages, companies can pay. What this does to our finances depends on Shri Pranab Mukherjee. He may not have favoured the tie-up, but we are now tied together. If he ensures recovery, we are projecting a surplus of Rs 30,000 crore and our operating ratio will approach 80 per cent. But I need to remind Parliament that under the separation convention of 1924, we don’t have to meet capital expenditure or pay dividends. Next year, I will recommend the Railway Budget be clubbed with the Union Budget. 2011 is D-year.

... contd.