Railways won’t raise fares after price hike

By Our Correspondent

New Delhi

June 4: Taking the additional burden of Rs 660 crores for financial year 2008-09, following the hike in price of diesel announced on Wednesday, the Railways decided not to increase passenger fares and the freight rates.

"The burden of the petroleum price hike will not be passed on to the rail users. Instead, we will try to meet the loss by increasing our productivity," said a senior railway official.

According to officials, the Railways consume around 2.27-billion litres of diesel every year, which costs the ministry around Rs 8,000 crores.

With the financial year burden working out to be around Rs 660 croes, the Railways will actually have to bear Rs 559 crores, for the remaining 10 months of the current financial year.

Even though rail is more energy efficient than most other transport modes, the enhancement of energy efficiency is an important issue for Railways to reduce their contributions to climate change further as well as to save and enlarge competition advantages involved, added an official.