Panel suggests one-time hike of 25% in rail fares

New Delhi, Jan 23: In what can be seen as heaping more burden on the aam aadmi for whom rail travel is a necessity, a committee on rail modernization has recommended the linking of all railway fares to inflation and has suggested the slapping of a one time hike of 25 percent. The suggestion was made by the committee that is chaired by advisor to the Prime Minister, Sam Pitroda.

According to a popular newspaper, this will aid the ailing Indian Railways and is expected to raise around Rs 60,000 crore by next year.

The announcement of sorts comes ahead of the Railway Budget of 2012-'13, with the raised fund expected to be utilized partly for the modernization programme of Rs 9,13000 crore spreading over next 5 years .

The panel chaired by Pitroda, made the presentation to the Planning Commission that suggested the 25 percent hike in the passenger fares that could ultimately lead to fetching a whopping Rs 37,500 crore.

The other revenue grosser will be the linking of railway fares including freight charges to that of the inflation, which can additionally pump in Rs 25,000 crore. Meanwhile, there are reports that the Railways Minster Dinesh Trivedi and the Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee are waring over the move to hike passenger fares.

OneIndia News