Platform ticket to cost Rs 10 from April 1

From Wednesday, a platform ticket will cost Rs 10, double than at present, and rail freight rates of various commodities, including pulses and urea, will go up by up to 10 per cent.

Also, one can book a train ticket 120 days ahead of travel date, instead of 60 days as at present.

Freight rates for grains, pulses and urea would increase by 10 per cent, while the rate for coal would be raised by 6.3 per cent, as per the Railway Budget 2015-15 proposals which will come into effect from April one.

Rate for cement will increase by 2.7 per cent while that of scrap and pig iron will rise by 3.1 per cent, according to the proposals.

As proposed in the budget, freight hike of 0.8 per cent will be effected on iron ore and steel while that for bitumen and coal tar, the hike will be of 3.5 per cent.

Due to these hikes, freight earnings are estimated to be Rs 1,21,423 crore in the next fiscal as against its estimated freight earnings in 2014-15 of Rs 106,927 crore.

Railways has an ambitious target of carrying 1186 million tons of goods in the 2015-16 fiscal as against 1105 MT in the current fiscal.