Railway Budget going to be populist

NEW DELHI: With Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee the rail budget for 2011-12 is expected to be a populist one unlikely to touch passenger fare or freight tariff.

Sources said that in the current fiscal, railways will lay over 700km new lines as against 250km achieved last year. According to sources announcement of some new trains for Bengal may come. Also the current budget target of laying 1,000km of new track in a year is likely to find mention in the 2011-12 budgets.

Rail Bhavan sources said, “There is going to be no burden on the aam aadmi, the theme of the budget will be modernization with a human face.”

(News Editor- Naushin Fatima Khan)