13. The distribution of the allotment of 24-77 crores over the Open Line Capital Programme is as follows:

14. Open line facilities.-The following shows the distribution of the proposed gross allotment of 19.41 crores among the various classes of Open Line Works :

15. (a) Doubling and Quadrupling. -The schemes for laying additional racks, for which provision has been made in the budget, fall under two heads: namely, those required in the neighbourhood of large cities for the improvement of suburban services and those designed to improve the capacity of main ines for carrying traffic in general.

Among the works falling under the former category particular mention may be made of the comprehensive programme of doubling and quadrupling included in the scheme of improvements in the Madras suburban area, for which as a whole a sum of 21 lakhs has been provided; and also of the quadrupling of the Bandra-Borivli and Bandra-Grant Road sections of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway, work ou which has now been practically completed.

The more important schemes of the latter category which deserve mention are the doubling of the Kyungon Myohla section of the Burma Railways and the Goilkera Manharpur section of the Bengal Nagpur Railway for which provision has been made in the budget to the extent of 8 and 10 lakhs respectively.

-The allotments under these

(b) Improvement of Rails and Sleepers, and (c) Strengthening of Bridges heads are required for improving the standard of such sections of railways as are under existing conditions unsuited to meet the requirements of modern loads. For this purpose the programmes of track and bridge improvement on the various railways have been co-ordinated with each other; the policy which in general has been kept in view is to resort to strengthening where the condition of the road demands it, but at the same time the age of the track does not justify renewal.

The more important schemes on which expenditure is anticipated next ear are on the Great Indian Peninsula, East Indian, North Western, and Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railways. Particular mention may be made of the relaying work of the Khandwa-Itarsi-Jubbulpore-Allahabad section of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway for which a total provision of 29.83 lakhs has been made; also of the regirdering of the Lower Sone and Allahabad Jumna bridges, and the renewing of the Dufferin Bridge at Kashi, on the East Indian Railway, on which it is proposed to spend 21.96, 12-67 and 13, lakhs, respectively, during the next year.

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(d) Remodelling of Station Yards. The present-day policy of railway operation places the improvement of station yards at the forefront of the programme of railway betterment. For a systematic improvement of yards secures acceleration of goods traffic and a quicker turn-round of wagons and locomotives, with the result that less money is needed for the provision of these classes of stock and a better service is given to the public at a lower cost.

The following are the more important schemes for remodelling station yards and the amounts proposed to be spent thereon during the next year :-

A brief description of two of the more important of these schemes, those for the remodelling of Victoria Terminus and the elimination of the reversing station at Bhore Ghat, was given in the explanatory memorandum on last year's budget.

Another important project is that for the improvement of railway facilities at Cawnpore, the execution of which at an estimated cost of 77 lakhs was approved by the Standing Finance Committee for Railways in August last, vide item No. 7 in Volume III, No. 2, of the Proceedings of the Committee. The existing arrangements for working the traffic of the various railways entering into Cawnpore have for some time past been found to be inadequate, and to lead to delay and inconvenience with much overlapping and duplication of work. A careful examination of the whole position was, therefore, undertaken, as a result of which a comprehensive scheme has been decided upon, involving the remodelling of the various station yards at Cawnpore and the construction of a central passenger station on the site of the (old) Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway station and goods sheds and yards. It is hoped that the scheme will lead to better centralised arrangements for broad gauge goods working, more convenient transhipment between the broad gauge and metre gauge and a better concentration of broad gauge and metre gauge engine sheds. The savings we expect to obtain from smaller detentions to stock, the employment of a smaller number of shunting engines, and lower establishment charges, should yield a return of about 8 per cent. on the estimated cost of the works.

(e) Staff Quarters.- While the growth of traffic in recent years has led to a considerable increase in staff, the provision of suitable quarters has, owing to a variety of reasons, fallen considerably into arrears. In consequence the Railway Board have had recently to deal with an increasing number of important and comprehensive housing projects on the various railways, and these brought into prominence the urgency of laying down a definite policy in the matter of the provision of quarters and the basis on which rents are to be

recovered therefor. The whole question was discussed with the Standing Finance Committee for Railways in June last and with its approval certain definite principles have now been laid down, vide item No. 10 in Volume III, No. 1 of the Proceedings of the Committee. Under these principles quarters are to be provided by railways only where conditions are such that private enterprise does not adequately meet the demand for housing the staff or where it is necessary for special reasons to provide quarters for certain classes of staff near to their work; the quarters are to be divided into separate classes for the purpose of assessment of rent according to the various classes of establishments for which they are intended; and the rent is to be so assessed that the total rents for all the quarters of each class taken together will yield a return of not less than 4 per cent. on the total capital spent excluding the cost of land. At the same time the rent charged to each individual will not exceed 10 per cent. of his emoluments. It is proposed to adopt these principles as a general policy to be aimed at by all railways and as a definite policy for Statemanaged railways.

The amounts which have been included in the budget for the provision of staff quarters on individual railways are summarised in the following table :

(f) Workshops and Stores and Station Buildings, and

g) Plant and Machinery.

The whole question of the capacity of the workshops of the State Railways and the possibility of their reorganisation and improvement on co-ordinated lines was investigated during last cold weather by the State Railway Workshops Committee, an expert committee presided over by Sir Vincent Raven, formerly Chief Mechanical Engineer, North Eastern Railway, England. The results of this investigation have indicated the imperative necessity, at any rate for some time to come, for heavy expenditure on the remodelling and improvement of State Railway workshops in general; this was explained at length in the explanatory memorandum of the budget for 1925-26 and reiterated in last year's memorandum. The recommendations of the Committee as to the lines on which the reorganisation and improvement of the workshops should proceed have been examined and, in the main, accepted by the Railway Board. These recomendations, with the Railway Board's views, thereon, have recently been communicated to the Railway Administrations concerned and a special officer has also been appointed to see that effect is given to them as early as possible.

The important schemes of workshop construction and remodelling, provision for which is included in the programme for the ensuing year, are tabulated below. The explanatory memoranda, on the last two years' budgets contained a brief description of all these projects :

(h) Electrification of Lines and Stations.-As stated in the explanatory memorandum on last year's budget, schemes have been under consideration for some time past for the electrification of the suburban lines in