Questions were asked in the Monsoon Session of Lok Sabha on Wednesday regarding auction of railway reservation counters, privatization and change in rail fares. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has given a written answer to these questions. The Railway Minister has told that the government is not considering privatization. Along with this, the Railway Minister has also clarified that the new fare structure has not been implemented.
On the question of privatization: Actually, Lok Sabha MP Mimi Chakraborty had asked whether the Railway Board has an idea to stop the catering, tourism and ticketing operations in the country and privatize its process through IRCTC. In response to this question, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the government is not considering it. The Railway Minister also rejected the question of Mimi Chakraborty, who asked whether the government was going to lease out railway reservation counters through auction. He said that the government has no such plan.
On the question of rail fare: In response to another question, the Railway Minister said that Indian Railways has not implemented a new fare structure during the Corona period. He told that due to Corona, Indian Railways has stopped all passenger trains from 23 March 2020. In view of the current situation, only special trains with limited stoppages are being run. However, no new fare structure has been implemented. In response to another question, the Railway Minister said that during the period of lockdown, the railways canceled the tickets of about 4 crore 34 lakh passengers. During this, money was not deducted on cancellation of tickets.
