Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Railway Minister has taken difficult but correct decision to hike fare and freight charges, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday.
India must decide whether it wants a world-class railway or a ramshackled one, Jaitley added after rail fare hike.
In one of the biggest hikes, the cash-strapped railways yestersday raised passenger fares by 14.2 percent for all classes and increased freight rates by 6.5 percent to garner Rs 8000 crore annually through the pre-budget decision.
The decision, which will come into effect from June 25 and apply on basic fare, comes nearly a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country should be ready for "tough decisions".
Due to the hike, a passenger will now have to shell out Rs 4354 for a journey between Delhi and Kolkata by AC-I on Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani, instead of Rs 3813.
Travel by AC-II on the same train will cost Rs 2508 instead of Rs 2197 and by AC-I, it will cost Rs 1728 instead of Rs 1514.
Journey between Delhi and Mumbai by Rajdhani will cost Rs 4073 instead of Rs 3567 in AC-I, Rs 2357 instead of Rs 2064 in AC-II and Rs 1617 instead of Rs 1416 in AC-III.
Travel between Delhi and Chennai by Delhi-Chennai Rajdhani will now cost Rs 4673 instead of Rs 5430 in AC-I, Rs 3129 instead of Rs 2740 in AC-II and Rs 2119 instead of Rs 1856 in AC-III.
Yesterday's decision marks implementation of an announcement of May 16, the day Lok Labha election results came, when the hike was announced but put on hold immediately.
