Minister V Sivankutty criticises Railway fare hike, warns of burden on common people

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala General Education and Labour Minister V Sivankutty on Monday condemned the Union government’s decision to increase railway fares, calling it 'condemnable' and warning that it would severely impact common people, workers, and students. He highlighted that even a small increase of a paise per kilometre in ordinary, AC, and non-AC classes would place a heavy financial burden on long-distance travellers, particularly Malayalis journeying to other states for work or education.

Instead of strengthening public transport and making travel more affordable, Sivankutty alleged, the Centre was resorting to fare hikes that effectively squeeze the public. He demanded that the Union Railway Ministry withdraw the decision in the larger interest of the people.

The fare increase, set to take effect from December 26, raises general class tickets for journeys exceeding 215 kilometres by 1 paise per kilometre. For Mail and Express trains, fares for both non -air-conditioned and air- conditioned coaches have been increased by 2 paise per kilometre. Under the revised rates, passengers travelling 500 kilometres in non-AC coaches will have to pay an additional 10 rupees. Suburban train fares remain unchanged, while fares for journeys up to 215 kilometres are not affected.

This is the second fare hike by Indian Railways this year. Earlier in July, fares were raised by 1 paise per kilometre for non-AC classes and 2 paise per kilometre for AC classes on Mail and Express trains. The latest hike is expected to generate an additional annual revenue of 600 crore rupees for the Railways.

The All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) says that of the 12.5 lakh railway employees, 2.45 lakh vacancies remain unfilled, with many posts not even having undergone initial recruitment tests. Despite the requirement to conduct annual recruitment to replace roughly 5,000 retiring loco pilots, no action has been taken since 2018. The association pointed out that this administrative neglect has contributed to a rising number of accidents, even as the government continues to abstract money from the public through fare hikes and other levies.