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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Rail Tariff Authority to take call on fare hike -K Balchand

Rail Tariff Authority to take call on fare hike -K Balchand

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published Published on Oct 10, 2012   modified Modified on Oct 10, 2012
-The Hindu

Union Railway Minister C.P. Joshi has announced the decision to constitute a Rail Tariff Authority, based on which the next hike in passenger fares and freight rates will be effected.

The Tariff Authority is an attempt at insulating the Railways from various hikes being effected by the government, including on fuel price, which officials regard as having made the operation of the Railways in the current situation unviable.

Addressing the Economic Editors’ Conference here, Dr. Joshi, however, made it clear that the Railway Board would take a call on the Tariff Authority’s recommendations before seeking Cabinet approval. The Authority, when it came into force, would take decisions on fares and freight rates as a dynamic policy.

The Minister declined to say when the next fare hike would take place, but stressed that the Railways had suffered a loss of over Rs. 4,000 crore due to the rollback of a hike in second and sleeper class passenger fares, ordered under pressure from the UPA’s estranged ally, the Trinamool Congress.

Dr. Joshi said the rollback was approved by Parliament, suggesting that the government would have to go back to the House and seek its approval for hiking the fares of these categories of travel. The possible hike could be during the winter session or the next budget session, he said.

Dr. Joshi underlined the imperative of taking into consideration the difference in road and rail fares, and said any decision would be taken only after taking all stake holders into confidence.

Dr. Joshi, who also holds the Road Transport and Highways portfolio, said the proposals for construction of the Mumbai elevated rail corridor and seven high speed corridors would also be placed before the Cabinet very soon. These would give a bid boost to investment in infrastructure building of the Railways, and increase the capacity of passenger trains and freight axle load. The Railways would first tie up soft loans, private participation and the scope for real estate development to put in place a financial model for these projects. The Cabinet would also be approached with a new plan for last-minute connectivity of ports and mines, particularly to increase coal evacuation from Chhattisgarh, Odhisa, and Jharkhand through joint ventures and Public-Private Partnerships. According top priority to safety, the Railways now intended replacing the proposed Anti-Collision Device (ACD) with a new system, which would be an amalgamation of the features of the ACD and the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS). The new system, simulation trials of which had been successful and physical trial were under way, would also prevent two trains running on the same track from colliding. It was expected to be rolled out in two years.

On unmanned level crossings, the Minister said the problem was being addressed. Various alternatives were being considered keeping in view the high number of accidents occurring at these spots, he said.

The Hindu, 10 October, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/rail-tariff-authority-to-take-call-on-fare-hike/article3982843.ece


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