20 % rail fare hike from 21 January
09 Jan 2013
Train fares across the board will go up by 20 per cent beginning 21 January, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced today.
The passenger fare hike is expected to fetch Rs6,600 crore for Indian Railways, according to the minister.
The fare hike comes as a premium for cleanliness and safety and the minister said the extra revenue earned would be used to maintain cleanliness and safety in trains.
The increase ranges from 2 paise per km for second class ordinary (suburban) trains to 10 paise per km for AC 1st class trains.
The minister described the 20 per cent fare hike as ''modest and reasonable'' and ruled out any fresh hike in the Railway Budget that is due in March.
With the hike, travel on a Rajdhani train from Mumbai to Delhi in AC 1st class will cost the passenger Rs3,555 - an extra Rs198 - while travel in the cheapest coach on the same train will cost Rs1,450 – an increase of Rs203.
The increases in passenger fares are as follows:
- Second class ordinary suburban - 2 paise per km
- Second class ordinary non-suburban - 3 paise per km
- Second class mail express train - 4 paise per km
- Sleeper class - 10 paise per km
- A-C chair car - 10 paise per km
- A-C 2 tier - 15 paise hiked earlier and additional 6 paise now
- A-C first class - 10 paise per km hiked earlier, in addition 3 paise per km now
The Railways had reported losses to the tune of Rs20,000 crore in 2011-12, the minister said, adding that losses could mount to Rs25,000 crore this year.
The Railways under minister Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool Congress was forced to roll back a more modest fare hike last year in view of the opposition by Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. She had him dismissed later and the fare hike was not implemented.
