Mixed response to Rail Budget

KOCHI:  The hike in ticket fare introduced in the new railway  budget has evoked mixed responses from passengers with some feeling that the hike is justified while others are outraged at the ‘extra burden imposed on the aam aadmi.’ City Express takes a look at passengers’ take on the issue. Gopinath Panicker, a lawyer, says that the hike is absolutely  justified considering the severe financial crisis the Indian Railways is in. “The fare has not been hiked during the past decade. However, the disappointing fact is that Railways has yet again ignored the need to increase the number of trains running in the Thiruvananthapuram/ Ernakulam-Bangalore stretch, he says.S Mukundan, a passenger from Kozhikode, says the fare  hike is not acceptable. “If the Railways is going through a financial crunch, it can easily find a way out through other methods. There must have been some political interest behind  the hike. There was no need to burden the public with the  ticket price hike,” he adds.For Lal, a Central Government employee, increasing the ticket   fares for A/C coaches is understandable as those passengers can afford to pay that. “But taxing the common man by raising the ticket prices of ordinary coaches is a bad step,” Lal adds.