Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha on Saturday made it clear that as of now there is no proposal to hike rail fares.
Development of Railways is on the priority list of the NDA government. If railways develop, economy will also be strengthened, and GDP (of the country) will also rise by 2-3 percent.
Actually, the Railways recover only 50 percent of the passenger cost they bear. So, there is already a huge element of subsidy (and passengers are getting benefits as passenger fare is subsidised).
Meanwhile, the government is making efforts to define high-speed trains.
"There is a misconception about high speed trains. The government is making efforts to define high speed trains, and the Railways is focusing on increasing the average speed of passenger and goods trains," Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had said earlier.
The government has chalked out a fresh plan for the Railways, which will be announced in the upcoming rail budget on February 26, the minister said.
With agency inputs
