Another rail budget has been presented, and like every year and every railway minister, Suresh Prabhu has promised us the moon. Bullets trains, clean stations, disposable linen, wifi and what not.
Each time a budget speech is read out, many of us surely imagine squeeky clean platforms and coaches, delicious hot meals on a journey to an exotic destination. But what the Indian Railway greets us with in reality is a few hours of delay, platforms that are filthy as hell, toilets that you can smell from a mile away and not so yummy food (sometimes with a sprinkle of insects).
And even as Prabhu promised to sweep out the bad and bring in the best for the Indian Railways, there were some 'yeah right' moments during his speech. Many of the promises he made, were repeats of promises made by his predecessors. And here we list out rail projects that never saw light of day, despite mentions during several rail budgets.
Bio-toilets in coaches: Going to the loo in a train is a major concern. The reason is the despicable condition of train toilets in our country. And not just the one in coaches, but those in stations as well. Dirty and unhygienic are understatements when describing toilets in trains, except for those perhaps in Rajdhanis and Shatabdis which are comparatively better (the key word being comparatively). While Prabhu claimed that 17,388 bio toilets have already been fitted, and the government intended to replace another 17,000 toilets we were filled with doubt. While we really hope he meets this promise, as of now, when you take a dump in the train it just falls on the tracks. And who cleans it? Nature, may be?
A/C rakes in inter-city trains: Mumbaikars deserve a/c trains, for having traveled packed like sardines in over crowded compartments in the peak of summer with hardly any air to breath for years together. And as Prabhu promised A/C locals for the fourth year in a row, we go "Yeah whatever." Because, have you ever seen an A/C local train in Mumbai? The answer is no.
Better quality food: While now one can opt for e-catering in 108 trains, food in trains in general still remains abysmal. Even as better quality meals are promised each and every year, the food quality kind of remains the same. A quick google search will give you at least 100 reported stories of how people have found insects in their food. Now that needs to stop. No one is asking for gourmet food. Just give us something that won't kill us. Thank you.
Anti-Collision device: The first time this device was spoken about during a Railway budget, Sachin Tendulkar was still playing cricket, the Left was ruling in Bengal and Rahul Gandhi wasn't really a part of active politics. Accodring to a Times of India report, "Twelve years ago, Konkan Railway had developed anti-collision devices (ACD) for prevention of train accidents but till date the devices are yet to be installed in all trains. ACDs were installed in January 2001 in a section of Northeast Frontier Railway after successful trials. Even though there have many major accidents since then, the railways are yet to install ACDs in all trains." The world has changed, but the device, that can potentially save hundreds of lives still remains a part of the speech but is still far away from reality. And though Prabhu promised that the government will fit trains with this device, we are filled with much doubt.
Bullet trains: As the government's Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project hit a road block last month, Prabhu said, "we will continue to pursue with vigour our special projects like High Speed Rail between Mumbai Ahmadabad." But will this dream be realised this year? As Prabhu himself said, studies are still to be commissioned, and reports on the issue are still expected. So, here's another promise that Prabhu is unlikely to keep and may be even repeat it in his next budget speech.
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