Rail ticket is set for a hike for the first time in 10 years. Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced a hike in train fares ranging from 2 to 10 paise per kilometre, which will come into effect from midnight January 21. The sleeper class hike is 6 paise per kilometre. The hike in AC chair car is 10 paise per kilometre, AC III tier 10 paise per kilometre and first class is 3 paise per kilometre while AC 2 tier is 6 paise per kilometre.
The last across-the-board hike had happened at the start of the millennium, when Nitish Kumar held the charge. According to Railways estimates, a loss of Rs 21,000 crore annually has occurred in passenger fare segment.
In a meeting with Bansal, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that the government is not willing to give more funds to Railways and hence has to generate revenue to fund its dream projects including modernization and expansion, particularly the dedicated freight corridor and high speed bullet trains.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi was forced to quit after he hiked fares in March 2012. In April 2012, AC I and AC II class fares were increased by 20 per cent.
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