The Railway Board is annoyed with Central Railway (CR) for dilly-dallying over the air-conditioned train’s fare. According to officials, the Board is looking into fares according to slabs where commuters will have to pay the same amount for stations close by as well as far away.
Owing to the CR’s indecisiveness, the Board is looking to create only two slabs for fare. “Currently, the board is looking into having only two slabs, that is from CST to Mankhurd and then from Mankhurd to Panvel. This will make things easier for the railways but a commuter travelling from CST to Vadala will pay as much as a commuter travelling from CST to Mankhurd, so this might actually backfire on the railways. If this will be the slab the commuter prefers to travel from CST to Vadala in a normal local, whereas we have to get those commuters into air-conditioned trains as well if we are to make it successful,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
Explaining the fare, he said that a commuter who wanted to travel between CST and Vadala would have to pay as much as '60, “This is not technically money for value so there is an intense back and forth currently happening in Delhi as to whether this is the right way to go. The same commuter will see that another person is able to go all the way to Mankhurd at the same price and, instead, catch a normal train,” said the official. CR general manager Sunil Kumar Sood, when asked to explain the fare for air-conditioned train had prevaricated.
