Rail Budget 2016: Prabhu goes hi-tech, green with Wi-Fi facilities and bio-toilets

New Delhi: As Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday unveiled the Rail Budget for the year 2016 in Parliament, he also announced a string of measures to improve cleanliness on trains as well as proposed commissioning of Wi-Fi services at major stations starting this year.

Here's a quick glance at all technology and ecology-related announcements made in the budget:

• Wi-Fi services at 100 stations this year and at 400 more stations in the next 2 years
• E-ticketing capacity raised to 7,200/min, from 2,000/min
• E-booking tickets on concessional passes for journalists
• Online booking of wheelchairs and Braille enabled new coaches introduced for the persons with disabilities
• Railways to introduce 1,780 Automatic Ticket vending machines
• 30,000 bio-toilets in trains by next year
• Proposed setting up of waste segregation and recycling centers at A1 stations in a phased manner
• Portable bio-toilets to be provided at all platforms of select stations on demand of senior citizens, persons with disabilities and women passengers
• 'Clean my Coach' service on Pan India basis to be introduced, where a passenger can request cleaning of his/her coach/toilets on demand through SMS
• Mobile app to deal with ticketing issues, complaints
• Information boards in trains, GPS based digital display inside coaches
• FM Radio stations to provide train borne entertainment
• Railways to use drone and geo-spatial based satellite technology for remotely reviewing the physical progress across major projects

(With Agency inputs)