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The Railways is examining the option of charging a differential tariff for certain cargoes being carried by it.
“I am working on a few companies, even Government companies… I will be looking at their balance sheet to see who can afford it without passing it on to the customer,” the Union Minister for Railways, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, said.
The Railway Board Chairman, Mr Vinay Mittal, added that commodities across the board were being looked at. “We are not saying that we will raise tariff.
But what is the rationale for companies to make profits of thousands of crores by using the Railways for carrying their freight?” he asked.
No time-frame has yet been fixed for the study being completed or its implementation.
Meanwhile, the Minister also announced the creation of a new special purpose vehicle (SPV) between IRCON and Railway Land Development Authority for providing better amenities to passengers.
“There could be a food court or a specialised multi-level parking lot. For this, the passenger will have to pay,” a senior Railway official said.
26 new trains
The Minister also announced the launchof 26 new trains, extension of eight existing trains and increase in frequency of five existing trains.
The new trains will be flagged off within two-three days.
The new trains to be introduced include the Pune-Secunderabad Shatabdi Express, which will be a daily service; the Dwaraka-Tuticorin Express (weekly); Mangalore-Palakkad Intercity Express (will run daily).
The Minister also announced the extension of Hubli-Bijapur passenger up to Solapur.
Besides, the Bangalore-Hubli Jan Shatabdi will run on a daily basis. Currently, the train operates six days a week.
Tatkal scheme
The advance reservation period of Tatkal scheme will be reduced from two days at present to one day, excluding the date of journey from the train originating station.
There shall be no refund on confirmed tatkal ticket subject to exceptions such as cancellation of trains and late running of trains.
No duplicate ticket shall be issued. In future, when Aadhar is operational, the issue of Tatkal will be linked to Aadhar.
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