Defending the fare hike, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi today said that it was needed to provide basic amenities and for the safety of passengers.
"Had we not increased the fare then amenities like cleanliness and safety could not be provided. The money will be spent on providing
basic amenities to passengers," Trivedi told reporters after presenting the rail budget for 2012-13.
The minimum increase of two paise per km will be in the suburban and ordinary second class category, while the maximum of 30 paise per km will be for the AC first class category.
For mail and express trains, the second class fare increase will be 3 paise per km, for sleeper class 5 paise per km, for AC chair car, AC three tier and first class categories 10 paise per km and for AC two tier category, the increase will be 15 paise per km.