LAHORE – Cash-strapped Pakistan Railways (PR) in order to overcome its financial crisis has decided to increase passenger trains fares by 10 to 20 per cent, The Nation learnt on Wednesday.
Sources said that notification in this regard would be issued within two to three days.
The Railways about a week ago had raised the fares of freight trains by 30 per cent.
The move is coming at a time when the utility is trying to streamline its spending and income. Amid the allegations of corruption levelled by the Railways unions, the Railways management is also moving towards private-public partnership.
It is also going to introduce about four business trains with the partnership of private sector, the first of which will start its journey between Lahore and Karachi on February 3.
An official of the department who wished anonymity said that the government had already refused to inject money in the department and asked the Railways management to itself generate resources for bringing down the annual losses of billions of rupees. ‘The Railways had recently taken bank loan of Rs 6.1 billion and started overhauling the engines’, said the official, adding, the management was also taking some other belt tightening measures to keep a tight leash on its spending.
Besides, he went on saying, it had decided to gradually increase fares both at freight and passenger sectors.
‘The diesel prices went up by 35 per cent so it was not possible to the department to rely on the current fare list’, he said.
It was claimed said that the decision to increase the fares had been taken in view of hike in diesel prices.
It is expected that after the increase the travelling between Lahore and Karachi would cost an extra Rs 100 single way.
The economy class fare would be increased by 10 per cent and air-conditioned class by 15 per cent. The fares of express trains are also being increased by 15 to 20 per cent.