New Delhi: Defending the steep hike in rail fare and freight rates as a 'difficult but correct decision', Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the Railways can survive only if users pay for availing of facilities.
"The passenger services have been subsidised by the freight traffic. In recent years, even freight fares have come under pressure," he said in his first reaction to the 14.2 per cent increase in passenger fares and 6.5 per cent hike in freight rates.
Stating that the choice before the government was to allow the railways to bleed and eventually walk into a debt trap or raise fares, Jaitley said, "India must decide whether it wants a world-class Railway or a ramshackled one.
"The railway minister has taken a difficult but a correct decision...The Indian Railways for the last few years have been running at a loss. The only way that Railways can survive is when users pay for the facilities that they avail."
"The passenger services have been subsidised by the freight traffic. In recent years, even freight fares have come under pressure," he said in his first reaction to the 14.2 per cent increase in passenger fares and 6.5 per cent hike in freight rates.
Stating that the choice before the government was to allow the railways to bleed and eventually walk into a debt trap or raise fares, Jaitley said, "India must decide whether it wants a world-class Railway or a ramshackled one.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Israeli Minister Says Starving Millions In Gaza Is "Justified And Moral" China, Saudi, UAE Agree To Roll Over Pak's $12 Billion Debt For A Year Why Imported Phones May Become Cheaper After Union Budget Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Police Arrest Suspect In Bihar Dalit Girl Kidnapping, Murder Case 80 Killed In Paramilitary Attack In Sudan OpenAI Blocks Iranian Group's ChatGPT Accounts For Targeting US Election Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.