Railway to set up Tariff Authority on passenger fare, freight

New Delhi: A proposal to constitute a Rail Tariff Authority (RTA), which was apparently in cold storage during the tenure of Mukul Roy as Railway Minister, is being revived after the exit of Trinmool Congress from UPA government.

Rail Tariff Authority (RTA), which will suggest the level of passenger fares and freight rates, was first proposed in the rail Budget 2012-13 presented by Dinesh Trivedi before he was forced out as Railway Minister by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

"We have decided to constitute Rail Tariff Authority, a separate body, for suggesting the level of tariff for both freight and passenger fares, Railway Minister CP Joshi said at the Economic Editors' meet here on Monday.

However, he said, the authority would take a while to be constituted because it is still in initial stage and is being deliberated threadbare before it is placed before the Cabinet.

The constitution and composition and its terms and references are still being discussed, he said to a question.

Refusing to divulge further, he said the views of all stakeholders will be taken into account in formation of the committee.

Giving details about the RTA, Chairman Railway Board Vinay Mittal said "the cost of running trains is becoming higher and the aim is to insulate us from various hikes like fuel hike and eliminate uncertainties in tariff formulation."

PTI