Pakistan Railways on Tuesday announced an increase in fares of passenger and freight trains to offset the recent hike in prices of petroleum products.

A spokesperson for the railways said in a Twitter statement that a committee was set up to hike rail fares in light of the increase in fuel prices.

It proposed a 15 per cent hike in all fares but the railway department decided to push up passenger train fares by 10pc and freight charges by 5pc instead so more financial burden is not put on passengers, he added.

The new passenger rail fares would be effective from Nov 1 while the freight train charges from Nov 5, the spokesperson said.