more-inThe Finance Ministry has agreed to partially fund the creation of a dedicated railway safety fund in the upcoming Union Budget to be presented on February 1. The dedicated rail safety fund is proposed to be utilised for track improvement, bridge rehabilitation works, rolling stock replacement, human resource development, improved inspection system, safety work at level crossings, among other things. The Railway Ministry had requested the Finance Ministry to create a non-lapsable safety fund named ‘Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh’ over five years. Now, it may either have to bring back a cess on rail tickets to finance its share of Rail Safety Fund or look to fund it from non-budgetary resources. In 2001, when a Special Railway Safety Fund of ₹17,000 crore was created, the Railways raised ₹5,000 crore through safety surcharge on passenger fare and the remaining ₹12,000 crore came from the Finance Ministry.

Source: The Hindu January 29, 2017 16:26 UTC