Trivedi gets support of railway staff federations on fare rise

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is gunning for the head of railway minister Dinesh Trivedi for raising passenger fares, but the minister is getting some comfort in the form of support from all the five federations of Indian Railways staff and officers.

They have threatened agitation against any roll back attempt on the part of the government. Even if there is a roll back on select classes, it would not be acceptable without a matching subsidy from the central government, they said.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the federations said, “All the federations of Indian Railways staff and officers whole-heartedly support the fare hike announced by Trivedi in the 2012-13 Railway Budget. The increase is not only long overdue but also modest in its impact. We do not agree on any attempt to roll back the proposed hike in passenger fares, as it will have an adverse impact not only on the safety of rail travel but also on the financial stability and sustainability of the Railways.”

 

While presenting the Budget yesterday, Trivedi announced the rationalisation of passenger fares. For the suburban and ordinary second classes, the increase is two paise per kilometre. The increase for mail and express second class will be three paise per km; for the sleeper class, it is five paise per km; for AC chair car, AC 3 -tier and first class, 10 paise per km; AC 2 tier will see a hike of 15 paise per km and AC 1st class will see 30 paise hike per km.