Railway unions support hike in passenger fares

While Mamata Banerjee might not see the logic behind raising passenger fares on trains, employee unions of the Indian Railways have reportedly said that they support it.

The fare hike is expected to raise an incremental Rs 4,000-5,000 crore for the railways next fiscal, which is already under financial pressure, Shiva Gopal Mishra, General Secretary, All India Railwaymen Federation (AIRF), the railways largest employees union told _ Hindu Business Line _ .

The AIRF had sought a hike in passenger fares in 2011,citing the poor financial condition of the railways.

The railway unions had said the rise in operational costs, due to higher fuel prices and other equipment costs, meant that the railways were charging too little to transport passengers. They had pointed out that while road travel costs had risen there had been no rise in the passenger fares.

The railway unions are meeting today to finalise a stand on the issue and said that if the government chose to roll back the passenger fare hike, it would need to provide more budgetary support.

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had hiked passenger fares for all classes of passenger travel during his railways budget. He has faced opposition from within his own party and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee has written to the Prime Minister seeking his removal.

The UPA today denied reports that Trivedi has resigned and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that they were still evaluating the letter received from Banerjee.