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Railway freight hike is inevitable, given the rise in fuel cost and staff expenses, according to P K Srivastava, General Manager, South Central Railway.
The Railways had announced a fare and freight hike earlier this month, but quickly backtracked as the country was in the thick of elections, leaving it to the new government to take a call on this.
“It (freight hike) has to be done today or tomorrow,” he told media persons here today.
He said while the gross freight earnings fell Rs 5,000 crore, the Railway expenses, including fuel bill and staff costs, had risen Rs 5,000 crore last fiscal. “There has to be a freight hike to bridge this deficit, or we have to improve productivity drastically,” he pointed out.
The fuel bill alone had shot up 28 per cent to Rs 28,471 crore last fiscal.
The Railways transport over two crore people and 2.9 million tonnes of cargo every day.
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