No fare hike in rail budget, says minister

Union minister of Railways Nitish Kumar has ruled out any upward revision of passenger fares ahead of general election in the interim budget to be tabled in Parliament on January 30.

Speaking to media in Kolkata, Kumar said the railways had absorbed the escalating cost of fuel in recent months and would continue this practice.

"Railways could have passed on the burden to the common man. But it decided against it and instead tried to reduce expenditure. Development and security enhancement related works have not been affected by to extra burden," he noted.

Asked if some concessions could be expected in his interim budget in keeping with the incentive packages announced by finance minister Jaswant Singh through his 'mini-budgets' in the forms of duty cuts, Kumar said: "Even one rupee jump in diesel price means extra burden of at least Rs 200 crore for the Railways. We are completely absorbing this. Is this not the best sop?"

The Railways consumes 200 crore litres of diesel annually for traction requirements alone. The total consumption figure was much higher in view of its requirement for power generator sets, used in railway stations.

Global crude oil prices have been riding over $30 a barrel. Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) have increased prices more than once in last few months. The last one took place in January 1 this year.

Kumar did not spelt out the exact amount being spent by Railways as extra expenditure on fuel but said it was substantial.