Flexi-fare formula experimental, to be reviewed later

NEW DELHI: A day after fares of the premier Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains were hiked by a maximum of 50%, Railway Board chairman AK Mital said the “flexi-fare”

NEW DELHI: A day after fares of the premier Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains were hiked by a maximum of 50%, Railway Board chairman AK Mital said the “flexi-fare” formula had been attempted on an “experimental basis” and would be reviewed after some time.

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At the same time, sources associated with Railways minister Suresh Prabhu ruled out the possibility of a roll-back of the hike decision.

The fare hike announcement has evoked strong criticism from Opposition parties. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday demanded an immediate roll-back, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi by alleging that “his model was to loot the common man and provide relief to industrialist friends”.

“The speed of the train may increase or not, but Modiji has put the fares on the fast track,” Gandhi tweeted.

Reiterating the rollback demand, Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the hike decision came as a “rude shock” to people ahead of the festive season.

Railway Board Member (Traffic), Mohd Jamshed, defended the decision, arguing that rail travel was still one of the cheapest modes of travel in the country. He pointed out that 1,800 crore had been earmarked this year for upgrades in passenger amenities, including provision of water-vending machines and lifts.

Rail finances have remained critical in past years. The transporter failed to meet its earnings targets in this fiscal’s first quarter.

According to current projections, there is likely to be a shortfall of more than Rs 10,000 crore in passenger earnings this year.