No increase in freight rates
No increase in passenger fares
Tatkal charges go down to Rs 100, booking time reduced from 5 days to 2 days

Unreserved ticketing systems to be expanded from 5,000 to 8,000 terminals

Janta khana (peoples' food) to be provided in railway stations
Develop 50 stations with world class amenities
12 new non-stop point to point trains introduced

ATMs on 200 mid and small sized stations

Aim for 1300 km gauge conversion by 2010

AC double decker trains for inter-city travel

Railway Finance Corp to borrow Rs 9000 crore in FY 2010

Madrasa students included in concession scheme

To set-up North Eastern development funds

Ladies special trains to be introduced in Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi

Kolkata Metro to be expanded

Increased Budgetary support by Rs 5000 crores
AC 'Yuva' trains at Rs 299 and Rs 399 to be introduced

Press correspondents to get 50% concession

To launch 57 new trains

Non-stop AC 'Turant' trains to connect major metros
Rs 25 ticket for those with monthly salary under Rs 1000 under the 'Izzat scheme'

Ladies special trains during peak hours
A new scheme called 'Izzat' to be introduced

To use Railway Land Bank for industrial development

To set up a new coach factory in Kanchrapara

Computerised tickets from post offices

3000 more unreserved ticketing terminals

At least one doctor on long distance train

Railways to set up cold storage cargoes

Mega logistics hubs in Eastern and Western corridor

Launch of premium faster parcel services in three routes

Aim to fulfill SC/ST backlog in jobs

18,000 wagons to be acquired by FY 2010

Railway hospitals to be upgraded

Commando battalion to be raised for security purposes

Integrated security schemes for 130 vulnerable stations

Railway recruitment board to be reviewed shortly

7 nursing colleges to be set up on railway land

Environmental friendly toilets on trains

49 stations of religious importance to be upgraded

Automatic vending machines to be set up at stations
Women commandos to employed for the security of women passengers

High-capacity double decker AC coaches on the cards
Automatic vending vans to be set up to make ticketing easy

Computerised ticketing from post offices

SMS update on waitlisted tickets

Tickets can be bought from Post Offices
Automatic train information systems on major cities

Specially designed coaches, escalators and elevators for the physically challenged

Depute doctors on long distance trains

Book stores, PCOs to be set up across stations

Infotainment services on Rajhandi and Shatabdi trains

To take the Private-Public partnership route to develop stations

Priority for food and water on trains

Developing multi-functional complexes at stations

Priority to passenger amenities

Rail projects shouldn't be gauged by economic viability but governed by social viability: Mamata

To set up panel for financing unavailable rail projects

Improvement of trains amenities

Railways is trying to keep up with change

Committed to the cause of the underpreviliged.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee begins her speech in Parliament.

Shares of engineering and wagon manufacturing firms surged by up to 4 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange in early trade today ahead of the Railway Budget 2009-10

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) gained 2.15 per cent at Rs 1,105, Hind Rectifiers, the manufacturer of rectifier equipment and semi-conductor devices, rose by 5.27 per cent to Rs 64.95

Budget is of the people, by the people and for the people: Mamata Banerjee

More trains for West Bengal

Budget hotels at railway stations

More Garib Rath trains to be introduced

Measures to improve catering and on-board decoration

Special announcement for security on railways

Mamata is expected to announce 25 new trains

Amid expectations of improvement in railway amenities and food served in trains, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee would present a 'pro-people' budget in Parliament

Business leaders and commoners in West Bengal are expecting a series of sops for the state when she presents her budget in parliament

In her two budgets earlier, Banerjee introduced a new biweekly New Delhi-Kolkata Rajdhani Express, besides starting several express trains connecting various portions of West Bengal

She might also announce changes in the Tatkal scheme to make it more passenger friendly

Among the legacies of conflict that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has inherited from her predecessor Lalu Prasad is the much-hyped budget hotels scheme - involving the construction of 100 hotels on vacant railway land in the public-private partnership mode

Mumbai, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of country's train passengers, expects three of its major projects to be approved in the railway budget

Mamata's predecessor Lalu Prasad Yadav had promised to introduce GO Mumbai card on Central and Western Railway and on BEST