Worried about Indian Railways fares being hiked? Worry not, here is Railway Minister Piyush Goyal assurance

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today said that there is no proposal to hike Indian Railways fares even as price of diesel has gone up as a result of increase in excise duty and cess. Goyal added, "At present, there is no proposal to change fares because of diesel price increase." Goyal made this statement in the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour, as Congress leader BK Hariprasad wanted a reply from the Railway Minister on whether fluctuation in petroleum products would have its impact on passenger and freight fares.

According to Piyush Goyal, consumption of diesel by the Railways has been coming down over the years as it was moving to electric traction and there is a plan for 100 per cent electrification by 2022. Along with electrification, the Railways is also using bio-diesel to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel.

The question was asked in view of the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's proposal to increase excise duty and cess each on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre, during the presenting of Union Budget earlier this month.

Piyush Goyal had earlier said that the public transporter consumes about 1.27 per cent of the total electricity consumption of the country and three per cent of diesel for its energy needs. Notably, Railways is the third largest consumer of diesel in the country, but it has been fast moving to green energy in a big way to reduce carbon footprint and protect the environment. 

In 2018-19, Indian Railways consumed about 20.44 billion units of electricity and 3.1 billion litres of diesel.