Friday, June 9 2006 12:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Allahabad: Railways would speed up electrification work to reduce dependence on diesel, prices of which have gone up, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has said.

"The steep hike in prices of diesel will obviously hit the Railways hard. It is estimated that it will add an extra burden of about Rs 400 crore. In order to tide over this, we are planning to do away with our dependence on diesel by taking up electrification work on a war footing," he told reporters last night at the Allahabad junction, where his special Chhapra-New Delhi train made a brief stop-over.

The Railway Minister, however, assured that passenger fares would not be hiked on account of the rise in diesel prices.

The proposed 'garib rath' train service will become operational from October 2, he said.

To a query, Prasad, Chief of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), said his party has joined the Jan Morcha floated by former Prime Minister V P Singh, with a view to weaken Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.