During an ongoing stormy winter session, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Thursday hinted at an increase in passenger fare as he asked Parliamentarians to be ‘realistic’ if they want the railways to move forward. Bansal explained while replying to a query from TMC member Saugata Ray on fare hike, ‘All that I would like to say is that I would expect the House to be realistic.’ He said implementation of various safety measures would entail an expenditure of Rs one lakh crore over a 5 -yr period.
‘If we want to move forward; if we want the Railways to serve the country as it was mandated to; if we want the Railways to contribute, as we say, about 1.5-2 % points to the GDP growth of the country and be a veritable engine of growth; I think I have to come up sometime and then I would solicit the support of the House at an appropriate time,’ Bansal said.
‘If we want to move forward; if we want the Railways to serve the country as it was mandated to; if we want the Railways to contribute, as we say, about 1.5-2 % points to the GDP growth of the country and be a veritable engine of growth; I think I have to come up sometime and then I would solicit the support of the House at an appropriate time,’ Bansal said.