The Indian Railways is likely to increase the fares for all trains this week. The hike in fare may range between 5 to 40 paise per kilometer, according to reports.
United News of India said the revised fares will be applied to all categories, from air-conditioned to unreserved and suburban monthly-quarterly season ticket fares.
Last month, the prime minter's office gave its nod to railways on the implementation of fare hike.
The Indian railways has been battling with finances in the wake of economic slowdown. According to Times of India, the freight revenue of railways declined to Rs 19,412 crore between April and October, this year.
The lower-than-expected growth rate has dented the railways' freight revenue. Besides, railways is also witnessing a loss of traffic to airlines that have managed to keep fares low. The Indian Railways earned Rs 99, 223 crore against the projection of nearly Rs 1.18 lakh crore during this period.
Whereas, the total expenditure shot up by Rs 4,099 crore during this period to Rs 1.01 lakh crore, against a target of Rs 97,265 crore.
Moreover, the railways recorded an operating ratio of 98.44 per cent in 2017-18 which is the worst in the previous 10 years, according to a report by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The Railways has also been unable to meet its operational cost of passenger services and other coaching services. Almost 95 per cent of the profit from freight traffic was utilised to compensate for the loss on the operation of passenger and other coaching services, it said.
The audit analysis of the financial accounts of Indian Railways revealed a declining trend of revenue surplus and the share of internal resources in capital expenditure. The net revenue surplus decreased by 66.10 per cent from Rs 4,913.00 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 1,665.61 crore in 2017-18.
Also read: Indian Railways' operational efficiency may be at its worst since 1951
Also read: Railways operating ratio in 2017-18 was 98.44%, worst in 10 years: CAG