Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday hinted that there may not be any cut in train fares despite the fall in diesel prices. The Railway Minister told the media in Bengaluru on Thursday after flagging off four new trains in the city through remote signaling.
Actually, the Railways recover only 50 per cent of the passenger cost they bear. So, there is already a huge element of subsidy (and passengers are getting benefits as passenger fare is subsidised),” Prabhu added. Prabhu said the Government was serious about the introduction of Bullet Trains in the country.
The Minister said feasibility studies had been initiated on the first route and the study on the second will be taken up soon. To a query on high speed trains, Prabhu said the Government is making efforts to define high-speed trains, but certainly the Railways is focusing on increasing the average speed of both passenger and goods trains.