The fares to several destinations from Coimbatore in trains are far below the ticket amount to be paid to Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), following the recent hike in bus fares.
For instance, the rail fare for Pollachi from Coimbatore for passenger trains is Rs. 15, where as it is Rs. 25 in TNSTC. Before hike the TNSTC fare was just Rs. 17.
In a move to tap the potential, a railway official said that railways will cash-in on the favourable situation to accommodate more number of passengers on all the routes by adding coaches in passenger/express trains and also introducing special trains in a few sectors that are so far underutilised.
The fare for Madurai from Coimbatore via Pollachi is just Rs. 50 in passenger trains and it is Rs. 120 for Express trains operating in circuitous route (via Karur).
However, the fare for Madurai in TNSTC via Pollachi is Rs. 167.
In the days to come, low fares in railways will definitely attract more passengers daily for short distance travel for employment, another official said.