New Delhi: Pay more if you want to travel safe is what a high level committee on railway safety has recommended. The panel has suggested that a safety cess of Rs 5000 crore per annum should be levied from passengers.
If the recommendations of the panel are accepted, the passengers may be looking at a train fare hike after eight years.
The committee, formed in the wake of increasing accidents, has said that safety still remains a major concern in Indian railways, adding that the railway safety infrastructure worth Rs 1 lakh crore should be put in place over the next five years.
Referring to the recommendations of the report, Union Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi said he could not implement safety report unless he borrowed.
“We can generate from our real estate. I cannot implement safety report if I sit quietly and not borrow,” he said.
The minister further said, “In next five years, we need Rs five lakh crore,” adding that the Indian railway had outlived its utility.
Trivedi, however, refused to reveal anything about the railway budget.
“I am not going to spell out what I am expecting in the budget. My plan will be unveiled shortly,” he said.
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