Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda rejected populist approach and presented a focused budget in sync with reform.
Based on Prime Mnister Narendra Modi’s vision to make Railway a ‘growth engine’ for the Indian economy, Sadananda Gowda’s maiden budget promises better security, passenger amenities, high-speed trains and 
overall better experience.
“Going to present my maiden budget as a rail minister of India today. Hope we are able to meet public expectations,” Gowda said.
Gowda also announced 58 new trains including 5 new Jansadharans, 5 premium trains, 6 AC express, 27 express trains, 8 passenger trains, 2 MEMU trains and 5 DEMUs.
To give woman safety more importance, the railway minister proposed additional 4000 women RPF deployment soon in all major trains.
Fulfilling Narendra Modi’s dream of bullet trains, the Railway Minister proposed the first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmadabad route.
“We are introducing a bullet train between Mumbai – Ahmedabad route. It is our long cherished dream”, adding, “Diamond quadrilateral project connecting major cities across India”.
Sadananda Gowda seeks Cabinet approval for allowing FDI in the railway operation, however he said passenger services would be included in FDI.
“The bulk of our future projects will be by the PPP model,” he told in the parliament.
In his first reaction, the Prime Minister has twitted congratulating the Railway minister.
“Congratulations to the Railway Minister for presenting a futuristic & growth oriented budget. It is a budget for the common people,” Narendra Modi said.
Key takeout from the budget:
# All major Railway stations will have lifts, escalators, water etc.
# Outsource cleanliness at 50 major stations, cleanliness will be monitored by CCTV cameras
# More trains to have bio-toilets
# Major railway stations will have battery operated cars
# Select trains will have work stations. Business people can use them
# Per-cooked foods on all trains in a phased manner. Only reputed brands will be used
# On board housekeeping services will be extended to all trains.
# Usage of mechanized laundry services for bedrolls in AC coaches
# All stations to have retiring rooms. Also online booking facilities
# All major railway stations will have food courts
# Railways to introduce automatic doors, which close before the train leaves platform
# e-Ticketing to support 7200 tickets per minute and to allow 1.2 lakh simultaneous users
# Automatic ticket vending machines will be introduced to save the time of passengers
# Will have paperless offices, mobile based wake up calls for passengers will be introduced
# Vast land assets of Indian Railways will be digitized
# Railways will link all major ports through private partnership
# Plan to set up a Railway University for both technical and non-technical subjects
