New Delhi: Welcoming the Railway Budget, exporters today said the announcements related to augmentation of rail network and port connectivity would help traders.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that rail side warehousing would encourage development of cold storage facilities on vacant land near freight terminals.
The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) said the Railway Budget has spelt out a map for improving port connectivity that will result in ease of doing business and lowering transaction costs for exporters and importers.
EEPC India Chairman T S Bhasin said the announcement to develop rail side logistics parks and warehousing in PPP mode would also help the country’s exporters.
“Setting up of India’s first rail auto hub in Chennai and development of cold storage facilities on vacant land near freight terminals would go a long way in helping the country’s internal and external trade and industry,” he said in a statement.
He also said that the connectivity to ports on the 7,517 km coastline by the railways will yield positive results for exporters who are always battling the issue of poor infrastructure.
The Railway Budget for 2016-17 today spared passengers and goods movement from any increase in tariffs while it announced introduction of three new superfast trains and creation of dedicated north-south, east-west and east coast freight corridors by 2019.
Rail Budget Highlights
- 3 new super-fast trains — Humsafar Express, Tejas, Uday
- 50% more lower berth quota for senior citizens
- Eticketing capacity raised to 7,200/min, from 2,000/min
- Bar-coded tickets, scanners on pilot basis
- FM Radio stations to provide train borne entertainment
- Optional travel insurance for rail passengers
- Mobile app to deal with ticketing issues, complaints
- SPV with Japan for Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet train
- To invest Rs 1.21 lakh crore in 2016-17.
- Super-fast unreserved train Antyodaya Express
- 400 stations to have wifi, 100 in next fiscal
- CCTV surveillance for all major stations
- Beautification stations at pilgrimage centres, including Ajmer, Puri, Varanasi, Nagapattinam
- Rail Mitra Seva for old and disabled passengers
- Smart coaches with automatic doors, bio vacuum toilets, improved aesthetics
- Information boards in trains, GPS based digital display inside coaches
