ISLAMABAD, May 10: Pakistan Railways on Wednesday decided to increase with immediate effect the rail fares by Rs5 to Rs25 for passengers travelling beyond 100 km.

Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that fares for passengers travelling up to 100 kilometres would not be increased, but fares on routes between 100 km and 300 km would go up by Rs5 and by Rs25 on routes over 300 km.

However, he said that ticket prices for the Rawalpindi-Gujranwala, Rawalpindi-Gujarat, Lahore-Multan, Karachi-Hyderabad and Rawalpindi-Peshawar routes would remain unchanged.

He said that the fresh rise in petroleum prices had made it inevitable to raise railway fares.

He said that the government was striving hard to lessen the burden on the common man.—Online