While Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that the decision of hiking the fares was imperative to improve the financial health of the national transporter, many passengers have expressed unhappiness over the hikes.

Mr. Bansal described the hikes as 'marginal,' and stressed that the move help the railways in taking up large developmental activities.

But, a train passenger named Ramkrishna Medhi argued, "Though the proposed fare hike seems to be a matter of few paise, the fares for long distance journeys will go up significantly."

Starting January 21, fares of Express will rise by 4 paise per km. Travel by Second Class Mail trains will also become costlier by 4 paise per km, while fares of Sleeper Class will go up by 6 paise per km. fares of AC Three Tier and AC Chair Car will go up by 10 paise per km, while fares of First Class and AC Two Tier will soar by 3 paise and 6 paise per km, respectively.

According to Mr. Bansal, the `marginal' hikes would generate an additional Rs 6,600 crore per year and around Rs 1,200 by March 31.

Those passengers who have already booked train tickets for after 20th of January will have to pay the increased amount to the TTEs during their trip.