NEW DELHI: Grappling with the challenge of balancing the cost of operations amid increasing revenue loss, Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav on Thursday said passenger and freight rates would be rationalised, which is jargon for making you pay more.
Reports suggest fare hikes across all classes of passengers.
“We are going to rationalise the fares and freight rates. Something is being thought about. I cannot divulge more, this is a sensitive subject. While the freight fares are already high, our target is to draw more traffic from road to railways in this regard,” he said.
Before the final call is taken on fare hikes, the ministry will discuss the proposals at length keeping in mind the sensitivity of the matter, Yadav added.
According to reports, passenger fares may go up from 5 to 40 paise per km in all sectors from the unreserved category to AC first-class and season tickets.
The Railways has been hit hard by the economic slowdown with revenues down by Rs 155 crore and Rs 3,901 crore in passenger and freight fares, respectively, in the second quarter of the current fiscal, compared to the previous one, the national transporter said in response to a Right to Information Act query.
Aware as it is that customers are shifting from rail to air and road transport in a big way, the Railways has been looking at alternate sources of earnings and already taken several measures, Yadav said.