Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan has said the government has no plans to change the price of train tickets at present despite an increase in fuel prices.
Even though locomotives run on diesel, Sujan on Saturday assured that railway fares would not be affected by the additional fuel costs, reports bdnews24.com.
While the private sector plays a major role in road, shipping and aviation services in Bangladesh, railway services are wholly state-run.
Speaking to reporters at Dhaka's Kamalapur Railway Station, Sujan said, "So far, we have not taken any decision to increase the train fare. If it was the case that we were facing massive losses due to a rise in fuel prices then we would be thinking of raising the fare.”
The government has increased the price of diesel by Tk 15 per litre to Tk 80 in light of a volatile international oil market. As a result, government subsidies for the railways will increase.
"Train services are subsidised by the government. Railways have to pay a lot of subsidies. Instead of Tk 10, maybe it [the subsidy] will have to be increased to Tk 12. That is why we have not taken any decision on raising the fares.”