Ride on Mumbai's suburban network dearer

MUMBAI: Commuters on Mumbai’s suburban network may have to pay slightly more for their tickets.
Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi has proposed a Re 1 to Rs 5 hike in fares for the second class card ticket, while commuters may have to shell out Rs 5 to Rs 45 more for monthly season tickets from the new financial year. Going by the base rate, the second class fare will increase by two paise per passenger per km.
The railway budget presented on Wednesday proposed a hike of Re 1 for the first 10 km, which could increase the minimum fare from Rs 4 to Rs 5. However, the fare may actually come down in many instances due to the proposal to round it off.
For the next 25 km, the fare may increase by Rs 3, from the existing Rs 7 to Rs 10.For 50 km, there could be a Rs 4 hike, taking the fare from the existing Rs 11 to Rs 15. For 75 km the hike is likely to be around Rs 5, making it Rs 20. For 100, 125 and 150 km of travel, the new ticket rates would be Rs 20, 25 and 30 respectively, from Rs 19, 22 and Rs 25 respectively.
However, a senior railway official explained that the fare may actually come down by one rupee due to the rounding off principle, and increase up to Rs 3 between CST and Kalyan and Churchgate and Virar for second class category.
Suburban commuters travelling in first class may have to pay Rs 3 to Rs 9 extra for the above destinations.
Rounding off means fares ending with either 6 or 1 (i.e in the unit’s place) will be rounded off to the next lower multiple of Rs 5, so Rs 11 will become Rs 10 and Rs 16 will become Rs 15. However, Rs 12, 13 and 14 will become Rs 15, whereas Rs 17, 18 and 19 will be rounded off to Rs 20, the railway budget proposed. For monthly passes the fare will go up to Rs 75 from the existing Rs 70 for a 10 km travel, and from Rs 385 to Rs 430 for a travel of 150 km.
Appreciating the budget, general manager (CR) Subodh Jain said the hike was essential to generate resources.
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