Parliament passes Railways appropriation bills

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed Railway Appropriation Bills and supplementary demands for grants for this year. The total proposed outlay for 2017-18 is Rs 1,31,000 crore which is an 8 per cent increase from the 2016-17 budget estimates of Rs 1,21,000 crore.

The Railways' revenue for 2017-18 is estimated at Rs 1,78,350 crore, recording a 9 per cent increase from the revised estimates of 2016-17. The total revenue in 2016-17 undershot budget estimates by Rs 6,300 crore, according to PRS Legislative Research.

The House also passed Railways' supplementary Demands for Grants 2016-17 as well as the Demands for Excess Grants for 2013-14.

The Railways' finances were presented Finance Minister Arun Jaitley along with the Union Budget 2017-18. This was the first time since 1924 that the Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget.