Freight rates News

Also, one can book a train ticket 120 days ahead of travel date, instead of 60 days as at present.

Defending the hike in freight rates that would rake in Rs 4,000 crore more, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu Thursday said it would have minimal impact on the transportation of commodities and would not affect the prices of essential items like foodgrains, fertilisers and urea.

Suresh Prabhu's maiden Railway budget is high on vision and small announcements, but could push up cost of logistics that can hurt initiatives like the 'Make in India' campaign, analysts said today.

Terming the Rail Budget as "pragmatic", India Inc today welcomed the larger role envisaged for the private sector and said various measures proposed would bring in higher efficiency and improve ease of doing business.

Stocks of cement, fertiliser and steel companies suffered losses today following the proposal to hike rail freight by up to 10 percent amid concerns that the firms will not be able to fully pass on the higher rates.

An official of state-run miner Coal India said that the impact of freight rate hike would be on the landed cost of coal.

Share prices of companies that cater to the railway sector plunged by up to 7 per cent today after the Rail Budget 2015-16 failed to boost investors' sentiment.

Manufacturing cost for cement is likely to go up by Rs 7-10 per bag of 50 kg due to the proposed freight hike on various inputs and the commodity, but domestic firms would prefer to wait for the main Budget to take a call on raising the price.

Railways' earning from passenger traffic is estimated to rise by nearly 17 per cent to Rs 50,175 crore in the next financial year as it expects more number of passengers to travel longer distance.

The Railway Budget today hiked freight rates on cement, coal, foodgrain and pulses, urea, kerosene and LPG by up to 10 per cent to mop up an additional Rs 4,000 crore a year but spared passengers from any raise in fares while ruling out privatisation.

There would be faster rail network growth in Jammu and Kashmir and connectivity provided to all the Northeastern states, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said today.

Giving priority to women`s safety, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu Thursday announced the utilisation of resources from the Nirbhaya Fund by Indian Railways, adding that surveillance cameras would be provided in select coaches.

Terming the Railway budget as "realistic and pragmatic", Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today rejected opposition criticism that it lacked substance and said NDA government has taken on its shoulders all the responsibility of implementing unfulfilled promises of earlier regimes.

Prices of food grain, pulses, cement, coal and steel are likely to go up following the proposal to hike rail freight by up to 10 per cent for various commodities.

Unimpressed with the Railway budget presented in Parliament today, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said it was full of "lofty ideas but without any action plan."

The Railways will launch within the next six months a programme to improve the design, quality and cleanliness of bed linen, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said here Thursday.

Urea prices will not increase for farmers even as freight charges have been hiked on the nutrient by 10 percent in the Rail Budget, Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar said today.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu Thursday proposed a slew of measures to make the country`s largest public transporter more environment-friendly.

Cement, coal, steel and urea prices are likely to go up with the Railways Minister proposing freight hike up to 10 percent for various commodities.

The government is working towards integrating the best food chains in the country into e-catering services, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said here Thursday.