The interim railway budget on Friday announced a symbolic 2% cut in passenger fares across all classes with an eye on the general election.
The interim railway budget on Friday announced a symbolic 2% cut in passenger fares across all classes with an eye on the general election. For journeys up to 10km and a maximum fare of Rs50 on passenger trains, a reduction of Re1 has been made.
As reported by DNA earlier this week, the UPA government decided to pass on the benefits of the recent diesel price cuts to train passengers. But railway minister Lalu Prasad kept the quantum of cut low so as not to dent the railways’ earning targets, an analyst said.
While announcing the cut in AC class fares, the minister reasoned, “Even as air travel is reportedly reflecting a reduction in number of passengers due to economic recession, there has been a significant increase in the number of passengers of these classes on the railways.”
He also said people in general have started expecting reduction in fares during his regime, and “respecting the wishes of crores of people, I have decided to reduce the passenger fares…”
Among other voter-friendly measures, 43 new train services will be started in financial year 2009-10, out of which four will be Garib Raths, air-conditioned trains with fares 25% less than on other trains offering similar facilities. Garib Raths were first introduced in the 2008-09 budget.
The new trains announced include Mumbai-Karwar Superfast, Bangalore-Nizamuddin Rajdhani, Mumbai-Varanasi Superfast, Mumbai-Bikaner Superfast, Mumbai-Tirunelveli Superfast, Mumbai-Machhalipatnam Superfast, Mumbai-Veraval Express and Mumbai-Jodhpur Express.
For 14 existing trains, routes have been extended. For another 14, the frequency has been increased.
Citing the achievements of his ministry, Prasad said in his Parliament speech that there has been a sharp decrease in the number of train accidents since 2003, the NDA government’s last year in power. As of 2007-08, the number of ‘consequential accidents’ were only 194, he said.
As for future projects, pre-feasibility studies are being done for running high-speed bullet trains on the Delhi-Patna route.
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