LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) administration on Monday announced increase in the fares by 5pc forallexpress andlocalpassenger trains that will be effective from Feb 5.

As per the railway officials, the fares have been rationalised following increase in the diesel prices and operationalcost.

A notification issued on Monday says: `It is notified for the information and guidance of all concerned that Pakistan Railways has rationalised its passenger fares. Accordingly, a 5pc fare increase will be implemented across the board in all classes of trains (including outsourced trains), as well as for saloon services.

This change will take effect from 5th of February, 2025.

The notification has alsobeen sent to all operational chiefs (divisional superintendents) of Lahore, Karachi, Sukkur, Multan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta divisions for information and implementation.

The notification also directs the PR`s IT director to ensure the implementation for advance booking and the DSs to ensure the updated fare table is applied at all stations and reservation offices.

`To ensure smooth compliance, all booking and reservation offices, as well as station staff are requested to immediately adopt these updated rates. Any discrepancies noticed by station / commercial staff must be reported to the office of chief marketing manager and IT director through the divisional commercial officer (DCO) concerned within seven days. Failure to report any discrepancieswithin this time frame will lead to accountability being placed on the concerned staff,` the notification warns.

A PR spokesman told Dawn that from October, last year to February, this year, the price of high speed diesel (HSD) increased multiple times. Though it led to increase in the operational cost, the PR bore it and didn`t pass this increase onto passengers, he added.

`Therefore, this [increase] has finally forced us to rationalise our fares in a bid to meet the operational expenses,` the spokesman said, adding that the PR would continue its policy of shifting minimum financial burden to the passengers.

`To increase our income, we are also achieving the targets fixed for our freight, land and other sectors,` he said.