Railways takes indirect route to fare hike

Railways takes indirect route to fare hike

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:02.03.2021 

In what could be an indirect fare hike, Southern Railway has started to operate some of the passenger trains as mainline multiple electric units (MEMU) services with limited stops and high fares.

This means that people will have to pay more to use trains between small towns, including Chennai to Puducherry and Tambaram to Villupuram. Southern Railway has converted around 12 trains, which were being operated as passenger services in pre-Covid-19 days, into MEMUs with fare equivalent to that unreserved passenger ticket rates of express/mail trains.

This includes Chennai-Puducherry passenger service which was used by employees of small firms and daily wage workers. They will now have to pay ₹90. Since, the train does not stop at all the stations, many will not benefit from the service.

K Baskar, former member of divisional rail users consultative committee in Chennai, said, "People have to pay more for tavelling short distance such as Coimbatore-Mettupalayam which will be hardly 36km. If such short distance passenger trains are turned into those with fares on a par with unreserved class in express trains, more trains could be converted in the future. In the case of the Pondy train, it used to be a blessing for many from intermediate stations. These set of passengers are being ignored."

T Sadagopan, a frequent traveller, said, "Railways had increased fares by doing public consultation. Now, unilaterally they have changed the classification of trains to collect more money. This is like making passengers adopt to the idea that they have to pay more to travel." ASouthern Railway official said the trains will be converted into passenger services when normalcy returns. The fare is high as stoppage is limited and journey time is less. The aim is to discourage people from travelling because of Covid-19.