Title - Rail fare hike likely on the table

Arun Jaitely hints rail fare hike in the upcoming budget. He says that passenger must pay more for better services. He further said that the idea of subsidies and other populist announcements is rejected by the today’s government and will not be considered anymore. Emphasising on outsourcing of non-core functions in railways for example hospitality services, he said that passenger must pay for it.

To reform railways government will refrain itself from populist ways and will develop infrastructure for which passengers will be made to pay. A rail budget’s success must not be judged by the number of subsidies it offers or by number of populist announcements it carries with it. A commercial establishment can only be run if consumer pays for the service like for example highway sector. This sector never took off as consumers were not paying until reforms kicked in.

Around the world it has been seen that only those services have succeeded where financial model asked consumers to pay for the service. The 92 year old practise of presenting a separate rail budget has already been ditched by the government and investments will be brought into the sector to enhance safety and infrastructure.