Pakistan Railways announces fare hike amid rising fuel prices

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways has announced a 5% increase in fares for passenger express trains, effective from February 5, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to Pakistan Railways, the decision to jack up the train fare came after the recent surge in fuel prices and it will apply to all classes of train tickets.

Additionally, the increased fares will also be applicable to saloon services and outsourced trains.

The development came after the federal government announced new petrol and diesel prices for the next fortnight, hiking the prices by Rs 7 per litre.

As per a notification issued, the price of petrol was raised by Rs 1 per litre. The new price of petrol was set at Rs. 257.13 per litre

Similarly, the price of high-speed diesel was also increased by Rs7 per litre. The new price for high-speed diesel was set at Rs 267.95 per litre.

Also read: Pakistan Railways plans new express Karachi-Lahore train

It is to be noted here that petroleum product prices was increased for the third consecutive fortnight as the same were hiked on January 1 and 16 too.

On January 1, the price of petrol was raised by 56 paisas to Rs252.66 per litre while the price of high-speed diesel was increased by Rs2.96 to Rs258.34 per litre.

Similarly on January 16, the petrol price was raised by Rs 3.47 to Rs. 256.13 per litre whereas the High-speed diesel prices jacked up by Rs. 2.61 to 260.95 per liter.

In a separate development, Pakistan Railways is planning to launch a high-speed express train between Lahore and Karachi, similar to the Green-Line Express that operates between Islamabad and Karachi via Lahore, a state-run news agency reported.

An official in the Ministry of Railways told the news agency that the primary goal of this new train service is to provide passengers with advanced amenities and an enhanced travel experience.