We appreciate and congratulate our Railway Minister, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw,

Lament the merger of the Railway budget with the general budget, however: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2025/columnists/indian-railways--powering-india---s-growth.html "One of the most significant upcoming milestones is the completion of the railway link to Srinagar, featuring some of the world’s tallest bridges and longest tunnels, seamlessly connecting the valley to the national network. Additionally, Indian Railways is on track to become the first major railway system to achieve 100 per cent electrification, ensuring seamless connectivity while reducing dependence on fossil fuels and drastically cutting carbon emissions." "A unique aspect of Indian Railways’ business model is its ability to subsidise passenger travel using freight revenues while remaining profitable. In contrast, major railway systems in developed countries are either privatised with the freedom to set high tariffs or reliant on government subsidies to cover losses. Despite stiff competition from other transportation modes and its dependence on derived demand, Indian Railways continues to meet ambitious revenue targets, delivering record-breaking performance year after year. This transformation may come as a surprise to those who remember an era when anything labeled “export quality” was reserved for affluent nations, while Indians settled for substandard goods and services. Generations of citisens were conditioned to lower their expectations, even for crucial services like Indian Railways. However, post-2014, the government has adopted a progressive and ambitious approach toward infrastructure development. A modern India demands a national transporter free from outdated constraints, fostering innovation and global competitiveness. This progress has been achieved while maintaining high levels of localisation for essential railway components and scaling up domestic manufacturing to unprecedented levels. While Vande Bharat trains have captured public attention, Indian Railways’ transformation extends far beyond these high-speed marvels. India is now set to roll out the world’s most powerful hydrogen trains in the coming months, a feat comparable to Operation Smiling Buddha, which established India as a nuclear superpower. At 1,200 horsepower, these locomotives far surpass those being developed by “advanced” nations still struggling with half as much power. To ensure safety, Germany’s TÜV SÜD has conducted third-party audits of India’s hydrogen trains. With the establishment of the world’s longest hyperloop test facility, India is emerging as a global leader in futuristic transportation. Following the completion of a 422-meter test track in December 2024, India is now developing a nearly 50-km test track to assess hyperloop’s commercial viability. Agreements with SwissPod (backed by Elon Musk) and France’s SYSTRA underscore India’s commitment to leading hyperloop innovation. Even China has recognised the strength of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. CRRC India is actively localising metro coach manufacturing for the Bangalore Metro, achieving over 75 per cent domestic content, with plans to reach 90 per cent. Furthermore, the facility is set to handle export orders for West Asia and Africa."

During the tenure of the present railway minister, the functioning of Indian railways is completely disrupted. Scheduled trains are cancelled often abruptly without prior notice putting thousands of passengers having reserved tickets in lot of inconvenience. Timeliness of long distance trains is completely missing. Often trains are delayed by 10 to 22 hours to reach their destination but the concern of the minister on these vital issues is apparently missing. Why not he introduced a system of payment of compensation to the reserved tickets holders for cancellation and undue delay of trains! By giving 40/50% concession earlier, the railways were doing well, which should be reintroduced again. Most of the nation's in the world, the senior citizens get concessional rates in many ways including cinemas and barbar shops. We should also follow such system.

Senior Citizen concession has been abolished by this government forever. Now they are eyeing only Vande Bharat trains. Feel lucky that they have kept Vande Bharat train fare 'Slightly less!!!!!' than Airfare until some more Pay commissions are implemented.

L.C had listed a slew of suggestions to cut the expenses incurred through perks for senior officials and British practices that swallowed Railway Money (public money,). So Railways announced terminating Bungalow peon system in 2020. This was sternly opposed by officers from some Divisional railways. Read the link please : https://theprint.in/india/railway-officers-resist-unilateral-shocking-decision-to-end-posting-of-bungalow-peons/477334/

Mr. Ravindran, senior citizen concession is not available in any train for your information please. As Mr. Deepak said it good to enforce the penalty system, and the fellow passengers should also take interest to show the notices pasted to such people. With support from the train staff. Otherwise it will become difficult to handle a noisy fellow passenger.