Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge played it safe by not announcing a hike in passenger and freight charges in the interim railway budget, his first and the UPA II's last.
Last year, the railway budget had increased fares for passengers. This time Kerala received three new trains: a Thiruvananthapuram-Bangalore premium train, a Thiruvananthapuram - Nizzamuddin express train and a Punalur Kanyakumari passenger. The first two trains would operate twice weekly. There is also a proposal to conduct survey on the Thiruvananthapuram-Puducherry route. The minister did not make any mention about the proposed coach factory in Palakkad.
During his budget presentation speech, which had to be cut short because of commotion in the house due to the Telengana issue, the minister said that there was a need for modernisation in the railways.
