Passenger train fares jacked up again after fuel price hike

Pakistan Railways has once again increased passenger train fares due to  rising petroleum product prices,

A notification issued by the Railways Department states that the fares for all passenger trains, including economy, AC standard, AC business, and AC parlour classes, have been increased by 1%.

The notification specifies that the fare increase applies to mail, express, and intercity passenger trains and all trains operating under public-private partnerships.

The fare increase will take effect from Friday, July 19, with instructions given to all divisional superintendents to update the fare table accordingly.

It is notable that Pakistan Railways did not provide any fare relief when petroleum prices decreased, but fares have been increased promptly with the recent rise in petroleum product prices.

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Previously, Pakistan Railways announced on July 1 that it had decided to increase freight rates by 3% across the board, which would be levied on all goods traffic from July 3, 2024 onwards.

However, it clarified that the 3% hike in freight rates would not be applicable to steel coils, petroleum products, line haul cost, line management cost, shunting charges, demurrage and destination charges.

The announcement of increase in freight charges came just a day after the management released the revenue figures for financial year 2023-24. The railways got Rs88 billion in revenue in the just-ended fiscal year, reflecting almost 40% growth over revenue of Rs63 billion in FY23.

The management recalled that at the start of FY24, the government of Pakistan had given railways the annual revenue target of Rs73 billion, but the entity managed to earn Rs15 billion more than the original target.

“This is the record revenue generation by the railways in its history,” said a spokesperson for the Pakistan Railways.