Title - Mixed response to rail fare hike in Tricity

CHANDIGARH: With news of a hike in rail fares effective from January 21-22 midnight, residents of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula on Wednesday gave a mixed response to the impending increase in trainticket prices.Punjabnewsline caught up with passengers and their kin at Chandigarh railway station and while most dubbed the proposed hike as ‘adding to the already burdened common man’, a handful of respondents stated thatthe hike would be ‘justified if Railways offered better services.’Union railways minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday said, during a media briefing, that the new fares implies a two paise per kilometre increase in second class ordinary suburban tariffs, the fare for second class non sub-urban travel has gone up by three paise per kilometer and that of sleeper class had been hiked by six paise per kilometer. Travelling in Air conditioned (AC) chair car and sleeper class would now be costlier by 10 paise per kilometer.Pritam Singh, a resident of Shimla in Chandigarh to travel to Delhi, said, “The fare hike is not an unprecedented one and not totally unexpected. Railways authorities should look at improving theirfacilities so that the fare hike would not pinch passengers.”Deepika Singh, a resident of sector-15 in Chandigarh, said, “Those who have to travel frequently for work to other cities from Chandigarh would definitely be worst affected. The hike had been proposed duringthe last Rail Budget but was rolled back, so it was only a matter of time that the Centre came out with it.”

Arun Lakhanpal, a resident of Manimajra, said, “For small-time traders like me who have to go to Delhi to get supplies, this hike would add to our input cost. Given the inflation over the last few years, profit margins have been decreasing year after year and the proposed hike would leave no choice but to look for other places to procure goods.”

Sohan Singh Bhullar, a resident of phase-II in Mohali and a frequent traveler to Delhi, said, “There is no justification for this hike. Railways should improve its facilities, its trains and the services offered to passengers and only then should they implement this latest fare increase.”