Rail Ministry Looks To Tweak Flexible Fares Without Pinching Travellers
Piyush Goyal says Rail ministry may tweak a scheme that earned them Rs 540 crore last year
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the flexible fare scheme of the Railways, which helped it earn an additional Rs 540 crore in less than a year, may be amended to ensure that it brings in revenues without taxing passengers.
"People have brought to my notice the issue of the flexi fare scheme. It could be made better in a way that it does not hurt people's (pockets) and also meets the revenue target," Goyal told reporters in New Delhi. "There is a possibility of making some change,” he added.
The scheme, launched on September 9 last year is applicable to premium trains such as the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto. It allows 10 percent of the seats to be sold at normal fare, thereafter increasing it in phases by 10 percent with every 10 percent of berths sold, with a ceiling of a 50 percent rise. The Railways earned an additional revenue of Rs 540 crore from September 2016 to June 2017 through the scheme, its data show.
The minister said the railways was also working to ensure efficient and faster services.
"It is proposed to increase the speed of around 700 trains with effect from November 1, 2017. This exercise will help in converting 48 Mail Express trains to the Super Fast Express category," he said. He added all stations and trains will have high speed wi-fi connectivity, but did not specify when this would be implemented.
To ensure transparency, all Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff and Travel Ticket Examiners (TTEs) will be in proper uniform while on duty, Goyal said. The RPF staff will not check tickets, which is the function of the TTEs, but they will assist ticket checking squads, he said.
Goyal said that India's space research body, ISRO, had offered to map all railway assets. "We also plan to eliminate 5,000 unmanned level crossings in a time-bound manner," he added.