Passenger train fares jacked up by 2%

The Pakistan Railways has made a 2% increase in the fares of passenger trains in view of a hike in the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD). This increase in fares will take effect from today, July 18.

An undated office memorandum seen by The Express Tribune directed the director IT to ensure the announcement of the new fares on the PR website.

The railways has also increased the rate of its freight trains transporting coal by 3% and the trains transporting rock phosphates and fertilizers by 2%. These hikes will apply from July 21.

The government on Tuesday raised the prices of petroleum products by up to Rs11 per litre for the second half of July in a regressive step that is likely to exacerbate the economic hardships of people.

According to a notification issued by the Finance Division on July 15, petrol price went up by Rs5.36 - from Rs266.79 to Rs272.15 per litre, while the price of the HSD rose by Rs11.37 per litre - from Rs272.98 to Rs284.35 for the July 16-31 period.

This hike in the HSD price increased the cost of the PR operation by Rs4 million [39,86,500] per day and around R199 million [119,500,000] per month. On an average, the PR consumes around 350,000 litres of HSD on a daily basis.