Dhaka, June 13 -- The railway, considered as the safer mode of transport, has got an allocation of Tk 16,263 crore in the proposed national budget, which is up by Tk 5,033 crore from the last fiscal year's revised allocation of Tk 11,230 crore.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the new budget in parliament on Thursday.

Of the total allocation, Tk 3,664 crore was proposed for operating expenditure and Tk 12,599 crore for development.

"The present government is attaching a top priority to the railway sector in order to make railway an economical, safe and environment-friendly mode of transport," the Finance Minister said.

For the overall development of railway, he said, the government has undertaken a 30-year master plan spannin...