Mamata demolishes Dinesh bid to increase fares marginally

New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI): Presenting a populist budget, Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday announced marginal increases in passenger fares ranging from two paisa per kilometre to 30 paisa per kilometre in various categories of trains despite noting that railways was passing through a "difficult phase". Shortly after the Trinamul Congress minister finished reading his speech, Mamata Banerjee, his party leader and West Bengal chief minister, said he must roll back the fare increases or resign.  He also announced introduction of 75 express trains, 21 passenger trains and extension of 39 trains besides increase in the frequency of 23 trains. Platform tickets prices have also been raised from Rs 3 to Rs 5. In his first Railway Budget, Trivedi announced increase in passenger fares by two paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class, three paise per km for Mail/Express Second Class and five per paise per km for Sleeper Class, 10 paise per km for AC Chair Car, AC-3 Tier and first class. AC-2 Tier will cost more by 15 paise per km while AC-1 will be dearer by 30 paise per km. In his over 100-minute speech, Trivedi said these were aimed at rationalising the fares to cause "minimal impact" on the common man and "to keep the burden within tolerance limits in general". He said he had been counselled to go for steep increase in passenger fares as there had been no increase in last eight years but he desisted from doing so "guided by the overriding concern for aam aadmi (common man)". The proposed adjustments, he said, do not even cover fully the impact of increase in fuel prices during the last eight years. "I am keeping the valuable passengers of Indian Railways insulated from the burden of increasing staff cost," he said.