New Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal today said his priority will be to improve the financial health of the national transporter and make it a preferred mode of journey in the country.

"My priority is to improve the health of the ministry both physical and financial," Bansal said here after being given the responsibility of crucial infrastructure ministry.

Asked whether he will go in for a fare hike, Bansal said the task of improving the financial health is a larger exercise. "It has to be a larger exercise. It does not have to confine to just increasing fares or freight...That is not the only factor on what the physical or financial health will depend upon," he said.