According to sources, the RTA will be a five-member body headed by its Chairman. While a current Railway Board Memeber is being tipped to head the regulatory body, four other members are being shortlisted.
The RTA, the first of its kind for railways, will susggest the level of tariff for both the freight and passenger fares from time to time taking into account the input cost (diesel and elctricity) and volatile market conditions.
The RTA, mooted by former Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi in his rail budget 2012-13, is being actively pursued by present Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and percieved to be the first major step towards delinking railways financial health from politics.
The proposal will be sent for ministerial consultations before it is put up before the cabinet, sources said. (more)