Passengers will have to pay for Railways' losses if this proposal is okayed

A parliamentary panel has recommended that the Indian Railways should periodically revise and rationalise the train fares to increase passenger earnings in the wake of losses amounting to Rs 350 billion in passenger services.

The Railway Convention Committee on Internal Resource Generation by Indian Railways, which submitted its report in the Lok Sabha today, said the Railway Board had informed the panel that the national transporter was losing money because the passenger fares were not increased in almost a decade-and-a-half.

"Taking into account the whopping loss of revenue in passenger services coupled with an operating ratio of 98.5 per cent, the committee is of the considered opinion that the railways have ultimately to undertake gradual or periodical fare rationalisation, besides embarking upon other requisite measures to increase passenger earnings," the report submitted by the committee said.

The panel has also asked the railways to make a segregated assessment of the actual revenue benefits accrued through the introduction of the flexi-fare system, which is "sometimes reportedly at par with air fares in economy class".