COIMBATORE: Salem Railway Division has revised the ticket fare between Mettupalayam railway station to Udagamandalam railway station in Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) for this summer. The revised fare will come into effect from March 1.
Now, a passenger, travelling in first-class from Mettupalayam to Udagamandalam, from Mettupalayam railway station, has to pay Rs 600 including GST, which is an additional Rs 170 compared to the existing fare of Rs 470.
A second-class travel in the train is up from Rs 145 to Rs 295 and first-class unreserved fare rose from Rs 365 to Rs 520. Meanwhile, second-class unreserved fare rose from Rs 75 to Rs 175. The train departs at Mettupalayam railway station at 7am and reaches Udagamandalam at 12pm. With the fare revision, the railway's revenue is expected to get a boost this summer.
Though there is a steep rise in ticket fare, sources in the railway countered that the new fares are in no way comparable to the loss to the railway in NMR. "We have been spending up to Rs 30 crore every year for operating trains in NMR section. The expenditure includes operating steam engine, diesel and coal-fired engines for 46 km stretch. As of now, we have been earning nearly Rs 4 crore yearly. Due to this revision, we are expecting an additional Rs 4 crore in collection," said railway sources.
They added that when compared to the fare collected in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), the revised fare in NMR is very less. "DHR has been collecting Rs 1500 for 5 to 10 km distance. However in NMR Rs 600 is the maximum charge for travelling 46 km. We have been revising the ticket fare after a gap of one-and-a-half years. It was in November 2018 that we had revised the ticket fare," they added.
Meanwhile, Founder of Heritage Steam Chariot Trust K Natarajan welcomed the revised hike. However, he strongly condemned the way the railway has been comparing the hike due to the ongoing loss. "Not only NMR, Indian Railways is incurring an annual loss of Rs 26,000 crore by operating passenger trains. The railway is getting revenue only through goods train. It should not point at the loss as the reason for the fare hike," said K Natarajan.
He also demanded the railway to allow the people from the Nilgiris to travel in the existing fare so that they could understand the value of the NMR.
The railway has also allowed seats for reserved passengers in four trains running between Coonoor and Udagamandalam (Ooty). Earlier, these four trains were being operated as unreserved trains.