Interim Railway Budget: Lalu signals fare cuts
New Delhi: Having managed to keep passengers fares in check for the last five years, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is expected to announce more sops for train travellers when he presents the interim railway budget in Parliament on Friday.Though it is a vote-on-account exercise, sources in the ministry said Lalu is keen to share the benefits of the reduction in Oil prices with passengers.
The railway minister would have got an upper hand over Rail Bhawan bureaucracy if he announces a reduction of 8-10 per cent in AC-III tier and second-class sleeper fares in his last Budget tomorrow. Government officials said the minister was keen on gifting lower fares to the janata in an election year despite resistance within the ministry. While this may be the case, airfares in key sectors had almost dropped to AC-III tier levels a week or 10 days back before bouncing back earlier this week.
Besides lower fares, Lalu Prasad’s populist budget for 2009-10 will include a substantial investment of Rs 12,000 crore for the ambitious East-West freight corridor. It starts from Kolkata and terminates at Mumbai, touching Ludhiana en route. The minister is keen to ensure freight corridors are executed in time to enable faster movement of goods. Given the increase in the number of passenger traffic on existing routes, the railways had favoured faster movement of goods through a dedicated line.