People do not mind paying for good and efficient service. And remember if the service has to be good and efficient someone has to pay for it.
In the case of the Railways, the travelling public must pay its share, especially those availing of the comfortably fast and super-fast trains. Therefore, the recent decision to introduce flexi fares on Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains cannot be faulted. Yes, it is meant to bolster the cash flows of the cash-strapped Railways. But given that goods haulage highly subsidises the passenger fares, any move aimed at slashing the subsidy ought to be welcome.
The argument that mostly middle class passengers travel by these trains and would feel the pinch of the flexi fares is fallacious. Middle class, anyway, is most pampered in this country, always unwilling to pay its share towards nation-building. But in case it is unable to bear the additional burden for a journey on the specified trains, it should be always welcome to take the lower category trains.
If you want comfort, you must be ready to pay for it. Period. Yes, a good case can be made for further improvements in the service, both in cleanliness, timeliness and safety.
Admittedly, the criticism that some of the fares might end up being higher than even the air fares is valid and needs to be looked into, even though rail travel often has its own charm and compares favourably with air journey. It should also be appreciated that Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has undertaken an ambitious programme to overhaul the entire rail network. He needs funds to revamp the systems, upgrade the railway stations, introduce fail-proof safety systems, replace old and rickety rolling stock, raise the average speed of both goods and passenger trains, etc.
As a commercial organisation, the Railways need to eventually become self-reliant and not rely on periodic handouts from taxpayers for its operations.
Unfortunately, within two days of the announcement the Government seems to have developed cold feet and has now indicated that it might roll back the flexi fares on the trio of premium trains. The fact that flexi fares are to be introduced in three of some 10,000-plus trains that the Railways run everyday ought to have made the Railway Minister defend the bold initiative more forthrightly. Unfortunately, populism saps the will of even the best of professionals in public life. Which is such a pity, isn’t it?
