Kharge defends decision to keep fares unchanged

Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge defended his decision to not cut passenger fares, saying it was a realistic move.

“I want to be realistic. I want Railways to be sustainable. I want Railways to survive,” Kharge told reporters after presenting the Budget in both houses of Parliament on Wednesday.

Not lowering passenger fares is also being read as an indication that populist measures are unlikely to be included in the Interim General Budget, which will be presented on February 17.

Passenger fares are important populism tools as 2.3 crore people travel by train every day. This translates into 800 crore passengers annually.

In the 2009 Interim Railway Budget, then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav reduced fares for all classes by 2 per cent to woo travellers.

Asked about not succumbing to such measures, especially in an election year, Kharge said: “I do not want to compete with anyone on populist measures.” He also justified the move to set up a Railway Tariff Authority by saying any third-party involvement in deciding tariffs will give an opportunity to more and more stakeholders to have a say in deciding fares.

The Railway Minister said 17 premium trains will be called Jai Hind Express. Such trains will have dynamic fares — essentially higher fares during the festival season.

Fares will also be slightly higher than normal trains. Tickets for these trains will be sold only through the railway Website to eliminate touts.

“We have only 17 premium trains while there are 56 normal trains in the Budget. We want to earn money to run trains for the common man,” said Kharge.

Calling his interim budget growth-oriented, Kharge said that during the last 10 years of the UPA, efforts have been to provide more funds for the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir, apart from strategic, interior and border areas.

During the last 10 years, ₹35,000 crore has been provided for railway projects in the North-East, he added.