Click to play videoNew Delhi: Mamata Banerjee will present the Railway Budget in Parliament on Wednesday and all indications are it will be a populist Budget with an eye on the West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled in 2011.
Mamata is unlikely to propose any increase in passenger fares. Railway security and infrastructure are likely to be on top of her agenda, even as 123 accidents have taken place in the last one year.
She is also likely to bring in a special Railway Security Fund as railways have often come in for criticism for not doing much to ensure safety to passengers.
Mamata, who is often accused of running the Railway Ministry from Kolkata, is also expected to make the Budget an election manifesto of sorts for Trinamool Congress ahead of Assembly elections in West Bengal.
The Budget may also see more Duronto trains being launched.
She will be presenting her second Railway Budget amidst accusations that that promises made last year have not yet been achieved.
While the Budget is unlikely to increase passenger fares, there could be a selective increase in freight rates.
Freight rates of foodgrains and fertilisers are likely to stay the same as the Centre has been facing a lot of flak on the price rise issue.
But rates of iron ore, coal and cement could rise
There is likely to be more schemes to bring traffic back from the road to the railway tracks
Currently Railways enjoy a market share of 30 per cent of total goods traffic.
However, her track record over the past one year does not inspire much confidence as most of the announcements made in the last year’s Budget are yet to see the light of the day.
She had promised 375 Adarsh stations but little has been achieved on the front.
Her announcement in the last year's Railway Budget of 50 multi-functional station complexes but foundation stone has been laid for only complex.
She had also promised 12 Duranto trains but only seven have been introduced.
Air-conditioned double-decker trains were also on her agenda but they are still being built.
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