On the right track?

Mar 15, 2012 - Akanksha Mehrotra

While Railway Budget 2012-13 has a lot to offer in terms of new initiatives like the Train Collision Avoidance System, and Green Toilets, it is the common man who will have to pay for them by coughing up higher fares for travelling on trains. Passengers on inter-city trains are likely to be the worst hit as their fares are being hiked by nearly 20 per cent.

Thousands of commuters, who travel to Bengaluru for work or otherwise from other cities in the state on the inter-city express, will have to pay 2 paisa more per kilometer. For instance, those who pay Rs 21 for taking the most popular inter- city between Bengaluru- Mysore, will now have to pay three rupees more. And passengers on the popular Bengaluru- Hubli train, who currently pay Rs 55 for 469 kilometers of travel, will have to shell out over Rs 10 more. The hike has caused dismay among regulars on trains, who are not looking forward to paying the increased fares.

“The hike in train fares will push up the cost of living and add to the inflation,” worries frequent rail commuter, Prithi V. Rakesh Kumar, an employee with a factory in Bengaluru who also regularly uses trains, is preparing to pay more for travel between two cities and even more for shorter rail journeys in future. “We will have to shell out close to ten rupees more a day for a two-way trip between Mysore and Bengaluru. After the increase in fuel price, this is the second blow to the ‘aam janta’ as a majority of people commute between cities on trains,” he laments, disputing the railway minister’s claim that the hike in fare is not big enough to hit the common man hard.

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