Railway Minister DV Sadanand Gowda, who will have to take a call on implementing a fare hike at the earliest, may announce his decision even before the Railway Budget is announced in July, but only after discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For the Railways, which has a pending proposal to increase fares, the question is more “when” than “if”.

“The fare hike that was rolled back on the direction of the former Rail Minister included a pending increase in the fuel component. So, a final decision on the exact form of hike and timing will be only firmed up after discussion with the Minister,” a top Ministry official told Business Line .

The Railway Board already has a proposal to increase passenger fares and freight rates, which have been kept on hold on directions by the former Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge. As per the proposal, the fare increase, if implemented at the earliest, can help the Railways mop up nearly one month’s revenues.

Seeking support Meanwhile, Gowda met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with Railway Board members.

The Railways has sought more funds from the Finance Ministry for special projects and also asked for thecreation of a dedicated safety fund. The fund is likely to be created by imposition of a safety cess on fares, as recommended by a committee headed by Anil Kakodkar.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that the Railways will impose a cess to create a safety fund. A safety cess on passenger and freight trains had also been imposed during the tenure of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA Government.

The forthcoming railway budget is also expected to provide clarity on foreign direct investment in the sector.

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