Rail traveller facilities' allocation up by 39%

The Railway ministry has increased the allocation for passenger amenities in the railway budget for 2007-08 by an astounding 39 per cent.

While in 2006-07 the budget for passenger-related services was Rs 353 crore, the allocation for the coming fiscal has been pegged at Rs 493 crore.

The growing significance towards passenger amenities in the ministry can also be gauged from the fact that the year 2007-08 has been declared as 'Cleanliness Year'.

Also, the ministry has lined up some significant passenger-friendly measures for the coming year, which have resulted in a significant increase in the Plan head for passenger amenities. The ministry is gearing up to provide Internet Cafes in railway stations across the country.

The telecom arm of the ministry, Railtel, plans to open about 250 cyber cafes. In fact in the first phase, it has identified 83 cities. Currently, seven cities "" New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Gorakhpur, Asansol, Jhansi and Pune stations "" have such facility.