City gets raw deal in rail budget

The rail budget announced on Wednesday had nothing to offer for the Tricity. Even as the residents were expecting some new trains to be introduced,there was not much that the budget had in store except increasing the frequency at which two trains ply from one day to two.

The frequency of the Dibrugarh-Chandigarh Express was increased to two days a week. The train was plying for one day. Similar is the case with Chandigarh-Bandra Express. In fact,the announcement for starting this train was made in the previous budget but had not been implemented.

The fare of the Shatabdi Express to New Delhi would rise by Rs 26. While that of the morning Shatabdi from Chandigarh to New Delhi would increase from Rs 435 to Rs 461,that of the evening Shatabdi would increase from Rs 420 to Rs 446.

The Shatabdi executive class fare would rise by around Rs 80. The present fare is Rs 820 for the morning Shatabdi and Rs 800 for the evening Shatabdi. For traveling second class to Delhi,the fare would increase by around Rs 5. The fare for the Jan Shatabdi second class is Rs 107 at present.