The Indian Railways is likely to increase passenger fares, but the timing is not yet clear.
The Railway Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, on Wednesday indicated that it would be difficult for the Railways to delay an increase in passenger fares.
Referring to the cross-subsidisation between freight and passenger segment, Mr Trivedi said, “I don’t know for how long we can continue doing this.”
“Since last eight years, there have been no across-the-board fare hikes,” he added.
“If I have to go back to 2004 levels of cost-revenue ratio, I have to increase tariffs by 100 per cent,” Mr Trivedi said.
“We need to do things intelligently,” the Minister added, indicating that the hikes have to be targeted for certain segments.
FREIGHT LOADING
The Railway Board Chairman, Mr Vinay Mittal, said the Railway Ministry may need to revise downwards its budgeted freight loading target of 993 million tonnes for the current fiscal.
Railways are loading less coal and iron ore – two of the key commodities that are transported by the Indian Railways.
TAX-FREE BONDS
Additionally, the railways are unlikely to raise the Rs 10,000 crore through tax-free bonds this fiscal as budgeted.
The railways may just require about Rs 7,000-7,500 crore through tax-free bonds in the current fiscal, Mr Mittal added.