The movement of bulk industrial goods like coal, cement ferrous and non-ferrous ores and metals, automobiles anbd other machinery will become more expensive. Increase in fares, especially in rajadhai is welcome. Increase in the fine on ticketless travellers are long overdue. However, steep increase in the fares of upper class, ranging between 3 times and 14.4 times is unprecedented, he added.

The proposal to increase the freight by 4 per cent will adversely affect the exports and small scale sector as the input cost has already been going up. This will be an additional burden on the economy which is passing through recession, said Vijay G Kalantri, president, All India Association of Industries (AAI).

Bihar chamber of commerce(bcc) termed as "balanced'' the railway budget for 1999-2000 presented by railway Minister nitish Kumar in the Lok Sabha today.Bcc president D P Lohia while welcoming the railwaybudget said with no no major changes in the fare in ordinary trains the budget was ''balanced.''He, however, expressed reservations over the ''hefty'' hikein fare of Express and luxury trains. Four per cent increase in freight of all commodities would result in "cost escalation," he said.

Lohia also welcomed the introduction of new trains andvarious innovative measures to avoid accident, for reservation linkages and concessions to invalid and media people.

The across the board hike in freight rates, especially at a time when the economy and the industry was facing a slow down and would have a cascading impact, said CII in a statement. CII said rationalisation of freight rates on the lines of passenger fares would have reduced subsidy on certain commodities which is a long term objective of the railways.

Assochampresident K PSingh said the hike would particularly affect power sector since coal formed about 40 per cent of the entire freight traffic of Indian railways.