The government yesterday raised fares of both passenger and freight trains by around 50 percent in a bid to reduce the railway’s annual loss, which is currently Tk 800 crore. The previous move to increase train fares was nearly 20 years back.
Bangladesh Railway (BR) until September 30 used to charge passengers 24 paisa per kilometer, which has been increased to 36 paisa.
The fare hike came into effect yesterday, BR Director General Abu Taher said.
He, however, could not give any information about the fare hike in freight train charges.
The railway minister on June 12 sent a proposal to the prime minister to raise the train fares. She approved the proposal on August 27.
BR has been pressing for 200 percent hike in train fares, considering the fuel price hikes in the last 20 years. But the parliamentary standing committee on railway ministry suggested a 50 percent hike, sources in the railway said.
In 1992 when the train fares were last increased, diesel, used to run trains, sold for Tk 13 per litre, which is now Tk 61 a litre.
“We have to increase the fares in line with the gradual rise in fuel prices,” said the BR official, adding bus and truck fares had increased manifold in the last 20 years.
Donor agencies have suggested increasing the train fares to reduce subsidy in the sector.
The previous BNP-Jamaat government rejected BR’s proposal to hike train fares. The military-backed caretaker government in 2008 also refrained from increasing the fares, considering its possible impact on inflation.
Railway officials said successive governments had hesitated to increase the fare, fearing that they would lose popularity.
Railway officials expect to reduce the annual loss by Tk 160 crore due to the fare hike.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
