The Union Railway Budget 2016 presented today by union railway minister Suresh Prabhu, witnessed highlights on travel and tourism sector. The budget also focused on enhancing travel experiences, with new developments in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC) services.
Prabhu identified the importance of new-age business travellers. One of the major announcements is the introduction Uday Express, an overnight double-decker train, which will operate on business travel routes. Two more trains, Humsafar Express and Tejas Express, were also announced. Additionally, Wi-Fi services will be made available at around 100 railway stations for business travellers and youth.
Special attention was given to improve rail infracture in the North East region; Mizoram and Manipur are said to come on the broad gauge railway network soon. Whereas, 44 new projects of 5300 km valuing Rs 92714 crore will be launched across the country.
In efforts to benefit tourism, Prabhu indicated provision of passenger amenities and beautification on stations at pilgrimage centres including Ajmer, Amritsar, Bihar Sharif, Chengannur, Dwarka, Gaya, Haridwar, Mathura, Nagapattinam, Nanded, Nasik, Pali, Parasnath, Puri, Tirupati, Vailankanni, Varanasi and Vasco.
“We are grateful to the MoT for earmarking `30 crore for development of Dwarka. There are many things we plan to do with this funding. And the state government is also going to supplement this in a big way because Dwarka and Beyt Dwarka will require no less than 200-300 crore or even more for development. We will also try to improve connectivity by building a jetty, bridges, sanitation, civic amenities, etc, and also encourage handicrafts and local artisans in these pilgrim places,” mentioned J Haider, principal secretary – tourism, devsthanam, pilgrimage & civil aviation, industries & mines department, Government of Gujarat in an earlier interaction with Express TravelWorld.
IRCTC will begin to manage catering in a phased manner; local cuisine of choice will also be made available, along with a specially designed menu for infants and children. IRCTC’s e-catering services will be increased from 40 stations now to over 400 stations.
Shwetank Singh, vice president, development and asset management, InterGlobe Hotels commented, “We are happy with the railway budget presented by the government today and we believe that it presents many progressive steps to boost not just the sector, but ancillary industries as well. From a hospitality sector point of view, we were looking keenly at last mile connectivity, timeliness of trains as well as ease of transit.”
“We welcome the initiative by railway minister regarding connectivity to some high-potential regions such as the North East, Andhra Pradesh and Kolkata. We also expect the religious tourism to exhibit a healthy growth in the next few years due to betterment of stations in cities such as Nasik, Haridwar, Varanasi, etc. Better services for the common man and businesses such cashless transactions, online bidding for ticket procurement, e-ticketing through international debit and credit cards, on-demand reservations for wait-listers, sale of tickets through hand-held devices, etc. will give a huge growth impetus to the hospitality sector in India,” Singh added.
Other major announcements include: laying 2,800 km of new railway tracks, installing 17,000 bio toilets and additional toilets in 475 stations by the end of this year, increasing the senior citizen quota per coach by 50 per cent, 33 per cent sub-quota for women under all reserved categories, among more.
Sharat Dhall, president, Yatra.com opined, “Suresh Prabhu’s railway budget is definitely positive and concentrates on tackling issues of the common man. Complete transparency, modernisation, enhanced infrastructure, safety, improved hygiene and overall resonance with the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ campaign makes this a positive and consumer-friendly budget. It is also good to witness a slew of initiatives that will use modern technology such as Wi-Fi at stations, automated ticket machines, bio toilets and bar-coded tickets and all this with no hike in passenger fares. The rail budget is also looking to enhance connectivity to the North Eastern states and the beautification of stations at pilgrimage centres, which will help in promoting tourism to these places.”
Manmeet Ahluwalia, marketing head, Expedia India expressed, “The government realises the potential of tourism and is looking at capitalising the same to boost domestic travel, with an initial focus on wildlife and pilgrimage tourism. Initiating circuit trains, adding passenger amenities and beautification of stations are steps in the right direction to increase traffic to these sectors. The government is learning from some of the leading tourist destinations across Asia and the globe. As Indian consumers take to newer experiences, the government can look at developing formats like day and night safaris, river safaris, jungle quests to provide an enthralling experience to domestic as well as inbound travellers.”
“In fact, we have seen a higher percentage of financially independent youngsters heading for pilgrimage tourism to appreciate natural beauty and spiritual experiences. Creating specific Aastha circuit trains will make it easier for them to cover more destinations in one trip. We have already seen a 35 per cent year-on-year growth in this segment over the last year. Developing railway networks deeper into the North Eastern region will further enhance domestic traffic, leading to better development and employment opportunities in the region,” Ahluwalia added.
