NEW DELHI: Get ready to pay more for rail travel by next March as the government is trying to set up of an independent tariff regulator.

PM Manmohan Singh on Thursday stepped in to accelerate the much-awaited reforms in railways, which has been neglected for many years.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has set deadlines for railways’ top brass to set up independent tariff regulator and implement pending projects within a timeframe.

Singh has asked an inter-ministerial group (IMG), headed by chairman of Railway Board, to finalize the proposal for setting up a Rail Tariff Authority by December 31.

The regulator will suggest rationalization of passenger fares, which have not been touched for the past nine years, thanks to populist pressures. The PMO has sought to expedite the setting up of the regulator, directing the transporter to move a Cabinet note by January 15, 2013.

Soon after taking charge, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has hinted at accelerating the proposal as the state-run transporter is cash-strapped due to the current practice of cross-subsidizing passenger fare with freight earning.

The regulator is expected to examine the operational expenditure, including diesel and power cost for running trains, and suggest passenger fare hike to absorb the escalated cost.

Faced with acute funds crunch, the government is aware that there is no other way than revising passenger fare to implement its safety and modernization efforts.

Worried over the political fallout, the ministry, under regional leaders for several years, could not rationalize passenger fares for long.

The setting up of a regulator will be a big step forward towards de-politicization of fare hike, which has not been rationalized since 2002-03, leading to a loss of around 24,000 crore annually .

The PMO has also directed railways to expedite setting up of long-pending Madhepura and Marhowra loco factories under the PPP mode. Railways has been instructed to invite bids for the Madhepura project by the end of this month, and award the project before the rail budget in March, 2013. "Timelines for the Marhowra project will be announced by December 15," it said.

To accelerate elevated rail corridor project in Mumbai, the PMO directed to sign the state support agreement with Maharashtra government within the next 15 days. Railways will finalize important milestones with timelines by December 31, 2012, and bids for the project will be invited before the upcoming rail budget.

UPA’s ambitious project dedicated freight corridor was applauded as it is shaping up much better than other large ventures.

Railways was asked to submit revised estimates with details on source of funding for the dedicated freight corridor project by December 15. It will also provide timelines for Sonnagar-Dankuni project on the eastern corridor.

